Bradley Wiggins is the kid from Kilburn who became cycling royalty – but he bows out of the sport amid controversy
Brit won the Tour de France and a record five Olympic golds plus silver & two bronzes but retires with cycling under investigation
SIR BRADLEY WIGGINS is the kid from a London council estate who grew up to become cycling royalty.
He is the Brit who finally conquered the roads of France to win the world’s greatest race then struck Olympic gold in London in ten heady summer days in 2012.
Wiggomania was at its height — from appearing at the Games’ opening ceremony to pedalling his way to the time trial title with thousands of fans wearing Wiggins face masks, printed by The Sun, lining the route.
Keep up to date with ALL the cycling news, gossip and transfers on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
When he added a fifth gold in Rio four months ago — along with a silver and two bronzes — to become Britain’s most-medalled Olympian, he should have bowed out on an emotional high.
But within weeks the Fancy Bears hackers ensured the retirement he confirmed on Wednesday after mulling over his future comes on a sour note.
The leaks revealed Wiggins used sick notes — officially called Therapeutic Use Exemptions — to take the otherwise banned steroid, triamcinolone, before three major races, including his history-making Tour de France win four years ago.
Wiggins did NOT break any rules — TUEs are allowed — and he NEVER tested positive during an 18-year career that spanned five Olympics.
He could be awkward in press conferences at times. At others, his deep love and knowledge of cycling and its history would shine through.
And his podium interviews could be comedy gold though often sprinkled with enough F and C-words to make Gordon Ramsay blush.
Wiggins, now 36, lambasted the sceptics when questioned about doping on his way to the Yellow Jersey in 2012, branding them ‘f****** w******’ and ‘c****’.
But his cack-handed attempts to explain why he took the drug to treat his asthma and other allergies — to get back on a level playing field — did not put an end to the matter.
Then Team Sky’s chronic mismanagement of the fall-out cooked up a storm of controversy.
It took a room full of MPs to finally drag it out of Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford that the medical jiffy bag sent to the team for Wiggins at the Criterium du Dauphine race in France in 2011 contained only an £8 decongestant.
That explanation has not been universally accepted and forms part of an ongoing investigation that has plunged British Cycling into crisis.
Former rivals and even team-mates questioned the ethics of his TUE use.
For the vast majority of the public, though, Wiggins bows out with his reputation as a cycling legend intact.
That was clear from the crowds that cheered his final appearance in Britain at London’s Olympic velodrome in October.
And it was the same when he won the Six Days of Ghent in the city of his birth with his old pal Mark Cavendish in November.
Wiggins had cycling in his genes, with his father, Gary, an accomplished Australian professional.
But Gary was also a drunk and died after a brawl at a house party in New South Wales in 2008.
Wiggins was just two when he was abandoned by his father and returned with his mum, Linda, to the Kilburn housing estate he made famous.
RELATED STORIES
As he said in his retirement statement: “2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards. ‘Feet on the ground, head in the clouds’ kids from Kilburn don’t win Olympic golds and Tour de Frances! They do now.
“I have been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil mychildhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport I fell in love with at the age of 12.
“What will stick with me forever is the support and love from the public through thick and thin. 2012 blew my mind and was a gas.
“Cycling has given me everything and I couldn’t have done it without the support of my wonderful wife, Cath, and our amazing kids.”
Wiggins’ career also includes the hour world record at the London velodrome in 2015, seven world track titles plus one on the road.
But with his own racing outfit, Team Wiggins, to focus on and the ongoing investigation into cycling, the final word has not yet been written on his legacy.