Sir Bradley Wiggins praises Peter Kennaugh after Brit announces break from cycling
The Tour de France winner reflects on the decision by his former team-mate Kennaugh
Sir Bradley Wiggins has praised Peter Kennaugh as the Brit takes an indefinite break from professional cycling.
Kennaugh announced last week he would be stepping back from the sport due to ongoing mental health issues.
The 2012 Tour de France winner and Kennaugh rode together at Team Sky from 2010 until Wiggins retired from the sport in 2015.
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Speaking on his podcast The Bradley Wiggins Show by Eurosport, Wiggins said: “I watched Pete grow up through the academy at British Cycling and he was tremendously talented on the track as a kid.
“We have to wish him all the best and praise him on the career he has had.
“He’s a great young lad and I’m sure whatever he does now he will be successful at.
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“When you can draw yourself out of [the sport] and get a bit of perspective, you realise there’s much more out there to do and he’s taken that decision.
“Good on him for having the balls to do it this early in the season and being so public with why he’s done it.”
Last week, Kennaugh and his Bora-Hansgrohe team announced that the Manxman would take an indefinite break to give him time to recover.
In 2018, Kennaugh took an absence from racing in the early season, saying he “felt quite down.”
He added that the lack of motivation made it difficult to train.
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The 29-year-old is a double British national champion, has won two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné and taken victory in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
Kennaugh is also an Olympic champion, having been part of the London 2012 team pursuit squad.
In an Instagram post, Kennaugh said he needed to “resdiscover happiness, motivation and enthusiasm.”
Bora-Hansgrohe team manager Ralph Denk said: “We thank Peter for his contribution to the team and we wish him well in his recovery process.
“We look forward to him making a full return to professional cycling in the future.”
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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.
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