Bradley Wiggins calls quits on Olympic rowing dream

The first British Tour de France winner had turned his attentions to a new sport, but has now called time

Wiggins switched management companies in January 2017 (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed he will not be pursuing his dream of rowing at the Olympics.

The first ever British Tour de France winner confirmed he would not be returning to British Olympic team for Tokyo 2020.

Sir Bradley retired from professional racing in 2016, and announced in 2017 that he was chasing a career as a rower.

But speaking on the most recent episode of his self-titled podcast, Sir Bradley said he had given up on his Olympic return.

When asked by The Bradley Wiggins Show co-host Adam Green whether he was back to the rowing, Sir Bradley said: “No.”

He added: “I’m still training every day but I’ve decided I’m not going for the Olympics.

“I’ve got too much other stuff to do and I need to give myself a break.

“I just haven’t got time to train three times day.

“To the level I want to do it to, it’s a full time job."

After training with Olympic champion James Cracknell, Sir Bradley competed in the British Indoor Rowing Championships in 2017.

But the 38-year-old finished a disappointing 21st after he mistakenly thought the race had false started, causing him to lose time.

Sir Bradley won the 2012 Tour de France riding for Team Sky, but went through a dramatic body transformation for his rowing career.

During training, he tried to reach a weight of 100kg to be competitive in rowing, 30kg more than when he won the tour six years ago.

Sir Bradley's career included the Tour de France win, six Olympic gold medals and he is the current World Hour Record holder on the track.

The podcast launched in July this year, and Sir Bradley along with co-host Adam Green interview big names in the professional cycling world, analyse races and discuss the latest cycling news.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.