Cycling fan paints garden centre table gold after bumping into Wiggins and Cavendish

Tim Bishop decided to commemorate meeting Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Steven Burke in a garden centre by painting its picnic table gold

Burke, Clancy, Wiggins, Cavendish and Doull in Morris's of Usk

(Image credit: Morris's of Usk/Tim Bishop/Facebook)

Cyclist Tim Bishop could not believe his luck when a visit to his local garden centre in Usk, Monmouthshire, ended up with him meeting Great Britain Olympic riders Mark Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins, Owain Doull, Steven Burke and Ed Clancy.

The five riders were out on a training ride in August ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when they stopped off at the café at Morris's of Usk garden centre. Bishop took a photo of himself with the riders, who were all in their official GB kit.

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When Wiggins, Burke, Clancy and Doull took gold in the team pursuit and Cavendish claimed silver in the omnium, Bishop decided to commemorate their visit to the garden centre by painting the picnic bench they sat at gold – after getting permission from the garden centre to do so.

It has now been christened the 'Olympicnic bench'.

Tim Bishop (fourth left) at the gold Olympicnic bench

Tim Bishop (fourth left) at the gold Olympicnic bench
(Image credit: Morris's of Usk/Tim Bishop/Facebook)

Along with the gold paint, Bishop also installed a brass plaque to explain its metallic hue:

"Team GB Olympicnic Bench. Painted gold by Tim Bishop in honour of Sir Bradley Wiggins, Ed Clancy, Steven Burke, Owain Doull and Mark Cavendish who stopped and sat here during their Rio 2016 training."

Bishop told Gloucestershire Live: "We thought that as post boxes were painted gold after London 2012 and it would be a great feature at the cafe after their success in Rio."

Plaque explaining the Olympicnic bench's origins

Plaque explaining the Olympicnic bench's origins
(Image credit: Morris's of Usk/Tim Bishop/Facebook)

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.