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

Sir Bradley Wiggins at the 2019 Tour de France
(Image credit: YORICK JANSENS/AFP via Getty Images)

Sir Bradley Wiggins has said he doesn’t like to be defined as a cyclist, as he hopes to retrain as a doctor.

Wiggins, the first British Tour de France winner, has revealed he wants to become medical doctor to “redefine himself.” 

The 41-year-old is part of the punditry and commentary team at GCN and Eurosport for the Grand Tours, but says he has realised “there’s more to life than cycling.”

In a slightly unusual interview with The Times newspaper, Wiggins said: “I don’t like being defined as a cyclist any more.

‘I’d like to become a doctor and redefine myself. I haven’t ridden a bike for five years so I’m not a cyclist.” 

Wiggins’s claim that he hasn’t ridden a bike in five years is slightly contradicted by a recent Instagram post of him riding in the new Oakley Kato glasses. 

On his punditry role, which he will continue with Eurosport at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, Wiggins said he is still a fan of cycling but that he has realised there is more to life than the sport. 

Wiggins previously said he wanted to train to be a social worker, but says he is now enrolled in a distance learning course to become a doctor. 

The former Team Sky rider was also asked his opinion on Dr Richard Freeman’s medical tribunal, after Freeman was struck off the medical register for ordering banned testosterone to British Cycling headquarters in 2011. 

Freeman, a former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor, is appealing the decision to remove him from the medical register. 

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Wiggins said: “It’s the same old thing, we’re no further forward than we were two years ago. We don’t know anything more. The whole thing is very bizarre. 

“I’m just a rider, I don’t know [who to go to for answers]. If you go to your GP like Harold Shipman and he kills your mum, who do you go to after that? The whole thing is baffling and complete incompetence at the highest f***ing level. I can’t get my head round it.”  

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Alex Ballinger

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.