LONDON • Bradley Wiggins launched an astonishing attack on his former employers at Team Sky on Wednesday and warned young riders against joining the team because "they will ruin you".

He won the 2012 Tour de France as a Sky rider but said that he would advise Tom Pidcock, viewed as Britain's most exciting up-and-coming rider, to steer clear of Dave Brailsford's operation.

The 37-year-old added that there was "a lot of negative talk" around Sky, but he refused to answer questions about the UK Anti-Doping "Jiffy bag" investigation into events during his time with the team.

He was speaking against the backdrop of mounting pressure on Sky to submit their appeal to a drugs test Chris Froome failed at last year's Vuelta a Espana. Froome is now trying to prove there is a legitimate physiological explanation for the adverse finding.

Speaking at the launch in London of the new roster for Team Wiggins, his Under-23 initiative, he was asked if he had any advice for Pidcock, his new star signing.

"Don't go to Sky in the future, steer clear of them. Go somewhere else, because they'll ruin you," he said."They are not barbed jokes or digs, that's the reality of the sport at the moment."

THE TIMES, LONDON, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE