Bradley Wiggins will not ride for Team Sky in this year’s Tour de France, team principal Sir David Brailsford has confirmed.

The 2012 champion had long since indicated that he would not be included in a squad built around Chris Froome, who last year succeeded him as yellow jersey winner.

Froome will be supported by his trusted lieutenant Richie Porte in a team also featuring Wiggins’s fellow Great Britain Olympian Geraint Thomas.

Mikel Nieve, Bernhard Eisel, Vasil Kiryienka, David Lopez, Danny Pate and Xabier Zandio complete the line-up.

The Tour starts with the Grand Depart in Yorkshire next Saturday and continues until the traditional Champs Elysees climax on July 27.

Brailsford said: “Team Sky returns to the Tour de France with the reigning champion and we are looking to win the yellow jersey for the third time in three years and a second consecutive time for Chris Froome.

“We know how hard it is to win this race and that it takes a totally focused and carefully constructed team, with the right blend of riders, to give us the best chance of victory. 

“Each rider has been selected to play a specific role which will involve total sacrifice and commitment to the team’s ambition of reaching the Champs Elysees in yellow.”

Brailsford admitted leaving out Wiggins was “a very, very tough decision.”

He said: “In elite sport, selection of a team is one of the most difficult parts, there’s no doubt about it.”