Sir Bradley Wiggins: Rider Profile

Bradley Wiggins, Tour de France 2012, stage 14

BRADLEY WIGGINS

Date of birth: 28/04/1980

From: Born in Ghent, grew up in London

Team: Team Wiggins

Previous teams: Team Sky (2010-2015); Garmin-Transitions (2009); High Road/Columbia (2008); Cofidis (2006-2007), Credit Agricole (2004-2005), Francaise des Jeux (2002-2003), Linda McCartney (2001)

Bradley Wiggins career profile

Born in Ghent, Bradley Wiggins grew up in London racing at the Herne Hill track from a young age. Wiggins' has focused predominantly on the track throughout his career, with his major breakthrough coming at the age of 18, winning the World junior pursuit title.

Wiggins went on to take a bronze at the Sydney Olympics and turned professional on the road with the now defunct Linda McCartney team. Since turning professional, Bradley has taken several time trial wins on the road and has turned into somewhat of a prologue specialist, although was beaten by a flying Fabian Cancellara at the 2007 Tour de France prologue on home soil in London. At Athens, Bradley became the first athlete for forty years to win three medals at one Olympics and almost repeated the same feat in Beijing in 2008, winning two gold medals in the individual and team pursuit.

After the Beijing Olympics, Wiggins released his autobiography documenting his hitherto unknown battle with alcohol addiction after the Athens Olympics in 2004.

In 2009, Wiggins signed for the vehemently anti-doping Garmin-Slipstream team and his concentration returned to road riding after focusing his entire 2008 season on the Olympics.

After putting in a solid performance in the 2009 Giro d'Italia, Wiggins turned his attention to the Tour de France. His ride in the Tour was nothing short of stunning, finishing fourth overall behind Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong. The result was later changed after Armstrong's disqualification for doping, moving Wiggins up to third.

As it turned out, Wiggins exceeded the long-standing British record held by Robert Millar, who came fourth in 1984. It opened a whole new chapter in Wiggins' career.

After months of speculation, Team Sky unveiled it had signed Wiggins from Garmin-Transitions in December 2009.

However, after competing in a difficult Giro d'Italia, Wiggins never found the form from 2009, and subsequently struggled in the Tour de France. The then British Time Trial Champion, Wiggins wrote a book entitled "On Tour" to record his feelings throughout the 2010 race.

In 2011, Wiggins started his road season strongly after a gold-medal winning ride as part of the British team pursuit quartet at the Manchester round of the Track World Cup. He placed third overall at Paris-Nice, coming runner-up in the individual time trial stage behind eventual overall winner Tony Martin.

The best was yet to come, as Wiggins rode strongly throughout the Critérium du Dauphiné to take the overall win - his biggest road victory to date.

His 2011 Tour de France ended in disaster after crashing out with a broken collarbone. Recovering quickly, Wiggins rode the Vuelta a Espana where he finished third overall behind winner Juan Jose Cobo and British Sky team-mate Chris Froome.

Wiggins crowned an eventful season by winning the silver medal in the 2011 World Championship time trial behind German Tony Martin.

Wiggins took one of the biggest victories of his career in March 2012, winning the final uphill time trial stage of Paris-Nice to win the race overall. Wiggins won the Tour de Romandie in similar fashion, taking two stages - one of them in a sprint finish - and the overall. A successful defence of the Criterium du Dauphine followed, putting Wiggins as the front-runner for the 2012 Tour win.

After a second place in the 2012 Tour's opening prologue, Wiggins successfully avoided injury and time loss in the frantic first week. Then, on the opening mountain stage, Sky set a blistering tempo up the final climb to La Planche des Belles Filles. Wiggins put himself into the race lead - his first Tour yellow jersey - with team-mate Chris Froome winning the stage.

Wiggins then won the race's first long individual time trial, his first Tour stage win, followed by another stage win in second time trial on his way to becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France overall.

Wiggins won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in December 2012. The result was decided by public vote. Wiggins was awarded a knighthood by the Queen in the 2013 New Year Honours.

In May 2013, Wiggins started the Giro d'Italia as runaway favourite for the overall win. However, he endured a torrid race which saw him crashing on a wet descent and then withdraw with a chest infection. He subsequently missed the Tour de France due to a knee injury.

Despite winning the 2014 Tour of California, Wiggins was controversially passed over for the Tour de France when it started in Yorkshire. He then re-focussed for the time trial world championships in September, which he won with a comfortable margin over defending champion Tony Martin.

Wiggins left Team Sky in April 2015 after competing in Paris-Roubaix. He joined British-based Team Wiggins, and set a new UCI Hour Record of 54.526km in June before embarking on his aim of riding in the team pursuit for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Bradley Wiggins results

2015

Three Days of De Panne; stage 3b (ITT)

UCI Hour Record (54.526km)

European champion; team pursuit

2014

Tour of California; stage two (ITT)

Tour of California; overall

British time trial national champion

Tour of Britain; stage 8a (ITT)

World champion; time trial

2013

Tour of Poland; stage seven (ITT)

Tour of Britain; stage three (ITT)

Tour of Britain; overall

2012

Tour of the Algarve; stage five ITT

Paris-Nice; stage eight ITT

Paris-Nice; points classification

Paris-Nice; overall

Tour de Romandie; stage one

Tour de Romandie; stage five

Tour de Romandie; overall

Criterium du Dauphine; stage 4 ITT

Criterium du Dauphine; overall

Tour de France; stage nine ITT

Tour de France; stage 19 ITT

Tour de France overall

Olympic champion; time trial

2011

Track World Cup, Manchester, team pursuit

National 10-mile time trial

Bayern Rundfahrt; stage four ITT

Critérium du Dauphiné, overall

National road race champion

2010

Giro d'Italia; stage one ITT

National time trial champion

2009

Three Days of De Panne; stage 3b

Tour of Qatar; stage one (TTT)

Jayco Herald Sun Tour; stage five ITT

Jayco Herald Sun Tour; overall

Beaumont Trophy

National time trial champion

2008

World champion, individual pursuit

World champion, Madison

Olympic champion, individual pursuit

Olympic champion, team pursuit

2007

Dauphiné Libéré; prologue

Quatre Jours de Dunkirk; stage one

Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne; stage four

Duo Normand

World champion, team pursuit

World champion, individual pursuit

2005

Circuit de Lorraine; stage two

Tour de l'Avenir; stage eight

2004

Olympic champion, individual pursuit

2003

Tour de l'Avenir; stage one

World champion, team pursuit

Ghent six-day (with Matthew Gilmore)

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