Cycling is now deemed 'cool' says Bradley Wiggins
Sir Bradley Wiggins says he couldn't have imagined the current interest in cycling when he started his career in the 1990s.
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

Sir Bradley Wiggins believes British success in recent years has helped turn cycling into a brand, with the sport’s market now worth £1.39bn to the UK.
In an interview with Marketing Week, the world time trial champion insists that cycling is no longer a niche sport, with his Tour de France and Olympic glory in 2012 helping to bring the sport to national prominence.
“The transformation [in cycling] is quite phenomenal,” Wiggins said.
“The growth was already huge but [the Tour and Olympics] helped bring a whole new audience to the sport and it really captured people’s imagination."
Since 2011, when Mark Cavendish was crowned world champion, interest in cycling in the UK has grown by 38% according to figures from Repucom.
Nowadays, Wiggins can be seen as a brand in himself, with Repucom claiming 81% of people in the UK aware of his exploits and 88% of them claiming to like him, making him one of the most liked personalities in the country.
And Wiggins admits that even a decade ago he would not have been able to predict cycling’s rapid increase in popularity.
“Cycling is not a minority sport any more, it has come a long way to be accepted… and be deemed cool.
“Everyone has a bike, has access to a bike or knows someone with a bike, so I think it is just one of those things that has been lying dormant for many people, but as it has caught on people have given it another go.”
Source: Marketing Week
Wiggo on tour: check out Bradley Wiggins' customised motorhome
It could only be Wiggo's
Bradley Wiggins's classic bike collection
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.
-
-
Are gravel races too challenging to broadcast?
FloSports and Life Time have mutually agreed to cease broadcast production for the Life Time Grand Prix
By Anne-Marije Rook • Published
-
The 5 Best Gravel Events You’ve Never Heard Of
The 5 Best Gravel Races You’ve Never Heard Of: Skull 120, Cascadia Super Gravel, Iceland's The Rift and Further and Peacham Fall Fondo
By Jacob Rathe • Published
-
British Cycling offers Bradley Wiggins 'full support' after allegations of sexual grooming
The governing body has contacted Wiggins after he alleged he was sexually groomed as a 13-year-old
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Bradley Wiggins alleges that he was sexually groomed by a coach as a 13-year-old
Former Tour de France winner says that it "impacted" him as an adult after he "buried" it
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Bradley Wiggins expresses regret for past behaviour: 'I was never good at handling public fame and adulation'
The 2012 Tour de France winner isn't proud of the public persona he had
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Sir Bradley Wiggins: I don’t like being defined as a cyclist
In an unconventional interview with The Times, the Tour de France winner says he would like a change of career
By Alex Ballinger • Published
-
Custom shoe designer gets an unexpected boost after Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins dons his kit
The Shoe Dr has done customised shoes for pros like Harry Tanfield but was still starstruck by the first British Tour winner
By Tim Bonville-Ginn • Published
-
Wiggins family winds up third company with debts of £141,000
Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins has seen a third company in his stable of businesses enter liquidation with debts of £141,000.
By Vern Pitt • Published
-