In this, the sixth in the series of Cycling Weekly’s big reads, our cycling legend is Sir Bradley Wiggins. Not only Britain’s most successful cyclist, but the most recognisable, and very special.
Wiggins has all the qualities of a top athlete; talent, drive, dedication, obsession and the need to win. He’s a media delight; controversial, outspoken, confident, charming and funny. Yet he remains Wiggo; the family man, mate, and a cyclist through and through.
Few have the breadth of talent Bradley Wiggins has. He’s one of the greatest-ever track racers. One of the best-ever Olympians, maybe the best from Britain. He’s been a world and Olympic champion on track and road. His road titles are in the time trial, and he’s one of the all-time greats at this exacting discipline. He’s also the first British cyclist to win the world’s biggest bike race, the Tour de France. And he’s still racing.
In 2015 Wiggins set a new UCI World Hour Record to write his name alongside Tour de France legends Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain, who’ve also held the record and won the Tour.
Now he’s in search of a fifth Olympic gold, making eight medals in all, so he’s training with the Great Britain track team in the hope of going to the Rio Olympics in 2016. And all this after a cycling career that dates back to 1995, and an Olympic debut in 2000.
It’s some story, and we’ve told it from the start in North West London to the present day, using archive and new material, including interviews with Wiggins and some of the people close to him.
They help tell the story, but so do the many photographs, some of them never published before, from some of the sport’s best photographers.
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Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
