Wiggins gets 2009 TDF bronze

Aigle, Switzerland - Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins has been awarded third place in the 2009 race by the International Cycling Union in the fallout from the removal of Lance Armstrong from the sport's record books for doping.

The UCI ruled last week that Armstrong's seven straight Tour wins from 1999 to 2005 wouldn't be reallocated unlike those from his comeback years after the American chose not to fight the US Anti-Doping Agency's doping evidence.

The UCI told The Associated Press on Monday that Wiggins has risen one spot to replace Armstrong as the third-place finisher in 2009.

USADA recently reported extensive evidence that Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven Tour victories. The UCI accepted the sanctions, included stripping Armstrong of his titles.