The Briton has a contract still with his Garmin Slipstream team, but after finishing fourth in this year's Tour de France, he wanted to switch for more support in a quest to win the most famous race of the world.

 

According to L'Equipe, one of the most respected newspapers in the world, Garmin Slipstream has agreed to let Wiggins leave his contract, something that team principal Jonathan Vaughters denied.

 

He said: "Brad has a contract for 2010.

 

"That is my statement."

 

Vaughters has maintained a consistent stance that Wiggins will be staying ever since the rumours that he was about to join Team Sky began to circulate seriously in September.

 

Then Vaughters claimed that if Wiggins, who finished just three seconds behind Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France, left it could put at risk the team's multi-million dollar sponsorship from Garmin, who manufacture and market GPS navigation, communication and sonar products.

 

Sky plan to bankroll the British team to the tune of £40 million with the aim of producing a British winner of the Tour de France within five years and seem determined not to miss out on Wiggins, the triple Olympic gold medallist.

 

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