one minute and 40 seconds down on winner Nibali (). Wiggins entered the Giro d'Italia as one of the favourites for the general classification. won the stage two team time trial on the island of Ischia, covering the distance of 14 seconds quicker than Nibali's squad. On stage four Wiggins lost 17 seconds after being delayed by a crash within the final , dropping him in the standings from second to sixth. A wet stage seven saw Wiggins crash while making a descent some from the finish, placing him in difficulty. Teammates Rigoberto Urán and Sergio Henao helped pace him back toward the leaders, but could not close the gap. Wiggins finished 90 seconds down on the race favourites, dropping him out of the race's top 20. In the following stage, a time trial, Wiggins placed second to compatriot Alex Dowsett of . A bike change compelled by a puncture cost Wiggins some time, and he ended up finishing the race ten seconds down on Dowsett. Wiggins struggled on the wet roads of stage nine, losing touch with the peloton on the descent of the Vallombrosa some from the finish. A group of teammates helped pace him back, and the gap was closed. Following stage 11 Wiggins revealed that he was suffering from a chest infection. He withdrew from the race the following day, after losing over three minutes on the day's stage. The presence of a knee injury was disclosed to the public on 31 May, which forced Wiggins to forgo defending his title in the Tour de France. He subsequently suggested he may never ride the Tour again. He returned to racing at the Tour de Pologne, winning stage seven's time trial, 56 seconds ahead of second placed Cancellara. In September, Wiggins led at his home race, the Tour of Britain. He won the time trial on stage three on roads around Knowsley Safari Park, close to his home in Lancashire. He held the lead for the rest of the week to win the race for the first time, and take his first stage race victory of the season. The following week at the world championships, he took the silver medal in the time trial, behind winner Tony Martin and ahead of Cancellara in a repeat of the 2011 podium. Wiggins was also selected to ride the road race, but abandoned after one lap, and was soon followed