Sir Bradley Wiggins is the most successful British road cyclist of all time, becoming a household name after winning the Tour de France in 2012. He followed up his tour win with a gold medal in the London 2012 Olympic time trial, and was awarded the British Sports Personality of the Year 2012 and a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours List.
While Wiggins is more famous for his exploits on the road, he is also one of the most decorated British track cyclists of all time, having won seven Olympic track cycling medals (four gold) and ten World Championship medals (six gold). He also holds three silver medals in Commonwealth Games pursuit events.
He was born in Ghent, Belgium, on April 28th 1980 to Linda and Gary Wiggins. His father was a successful Australian road cyclist, touring Europe during the late 1970s and 1980s, but he abandoned the family when Bradley was two. Linda and Bradley moved to London, where he was encouraged to join the Archer Road club. His breakthrough came in June 1998, when he won the 3km individual pursuit at the junior world championships in Cuba, aged 18.
Wiggins, or ‘Wiggo’ as he is nicknamed, is an all-rounder, but best suited to time trial events on the road. In 2012, along with his Tour de France win, he also took the Criterium de Dauphine, Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie. He was the first cyclist to win all of these events in one season.
