Bradley Wiggins

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins in 2011
Personal information
Full name Bradley Marc Wiggins
Nickname Wiggo
Born 28 April 1980 (1980-04-28) (age 31)
Ghent, Belgium
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight 69 kg (150 lb; 10.9 st)
Team information
Current team Team Sky
Discipline Road & Track
Role Rider
Rider type All-Rounder
Professional team(s)
2001
2002–2003
2004–2005
2006–2007
2008
2009
2010–		 Linda McCartney Racing Team
Française des Jeux
Crédit Agricole
Cofidis
Team High Road
Garmin-Slipstream
Team Sky
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
1 Stage (2010)

Stage Races

Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Critérium du Dauphiné (2011)
1 Stage (2007)
Jersey yellow.svg Herald Sun Tour (2009)

Single-Day Races and Classics

MaillotReinoUnido.PNG British National Time Trial Championships (2009, 2010)
MaillotReinoUnido.PNG British National Road Race Championships (2011)
Infobox last updated on
7 January 2012

Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines.

He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, three further medals at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, and two golds at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. In road cycling he turned professional in 2002, but his involvement was limited by his track cycling until 2007.

After the 2008 Olympics Wiggins took a break from the track to focus on the road. Initially viewed as a time-trial specialist and a rouleur, Wiggins showed his ability in stage races when he came in fourth at the 2009 Tour de France, the joint highest placed finish by a British rider in Tour history. In 2010 he was hired as the leader for the new Team Sky. To date his biggest win has been the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. Wiggins finished 3rd in the 2011 Vuelta a España, becoming one of three British riders to make the podium in a Grand Tour. Ten days later, Wiggins won the silver medal in the Time Trial at the World Road Cycling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that helped Mark Cavendish win the 2011 UCI World Road Race Championship.

Contents

[edit] Early years and family life

The son of a professional cyclist, Gary Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins was born in Ghent, Belgium and spent his childhood in London with his mother Linda, stepdad Brendon and younger brother, Ryan. He started racing at south London's Herne Hill Velodrome aged 12.[2] He lives in Eccleston, Lancashire. He married his wife Catherine in Manchester in November 2004 and has two children, Ben and Isabella.[3] Wiggins is a well known mod,[4][5] and owns a collection of classic scooters and guitars from the Sixties and Seventies.[6]

[edit] International cycling

At 20, Wiggins won a bronze medal for Britain in the team pursuit at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

In 2001 he signed for the British professional road Linda McCartney Racing Team before it disbanded in early 2001.[7] He joined Française des Jeux in 2002, before moving to Crédit Agricole in 2004.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Wiggins became the first British athlete in 40 years to win three medals at one Games, the last being Mary Rand at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He won the gold in the pursuit, silver in the team pursuit, and bronze in the madison with his race partner Rob Hayles. Wiggins was appointed OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to sport.[7]

In 2005, Wiggins rode Giro d'Italia for Crédit Agricole. He moved to Cofidis in 2006, and rode that year's Tour de France. He returned to the track for the Manchester round of the UCI World Cup and the world championships in 2007, winning the individual and team pursuit. He followed on the road by winning the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

He raced for Cofidis in the 2007 Tour de France and finished fourth in the prologue in London. He won the combativity award on stage six for a long solo breakaway. Cofidis withdrew after Cristian Moreni failed a doping test.[8]

Wiggins at the 2008 Tour of Britain

[edit] 2008

In 2008 he signed with Team High Road, a team later known as HTC-Highroad. At the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester, he won three gold medals: pursuit, team pursuit and madison.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he again won the pursuit, the first rider to successfully defend a pursuit title at the Olympics. On 17 August, he was a member of the Olympic pursuit team which broke the world record in the heats with 3:55:202, beating Russia to the ride-off for silver and gold.[9] The following day, the team won the gold with a world record of 3:53:314, beating Denmark by 6.7s.[10] Wiggins paired up with Mark Cavendish in the madison and finished ninth.[11]

In October 2008 he published his autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory[12] and joined the Garmin-Slipstream team for the 2009 season.[13]

On 14 December 2008 Wiggins came ninth in the BBC Sports Personality Awards with 5,633 votes.[14] On 31 December Wiggins was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[15]

[edit] 2009

Bradley Wiggins at the 2009 Tour de France

After finishing the 2009 Giro d'Italia 71st, which included second place in the final stage, Wiggins arrived at the 2009 Tour de France having lost six kilos.[16][17] He came third in the opening time-trial in Monaco and helped Garmin to second place in the team time-trial despite losing four riders. In the first mountain finish, Wiggins finished 12th, and at 5th place overall entering the second week, had the highest second-week place by a British rider since Robert Millar. On the second mountain finish, in Verbier, Wiggins finished fifth to climb to third overall. He was attacked by the Schleck brothers on stage 17 and dropped to sixth, but moved to fourth in the stage 18 time-trial. On stage 20 to Mont Ventoux, Wiggins finished tenth and held fourth by three seconds ahead of Frank Schleck. He held that position in the final stage, equalling Robert Millar's highest ever finish by a British rider in the Tour.[18]

Wiggins won the British National Time Trial Championships in September 2009.[19]

In October 2009, he won the Herald Sun Tour after helping team-mates most of the race. He led after winning the stage five time-trial in Geelong by 14 seconds over team-mate Svein Tuft.

Wiggins had been contracted to ride for Garmin Slipstream in 2010, but following much speculation it was announced in December 2009 that he was to leave to join Team Sky, having signed a four year contract with the new British based team.[20]

[edit] 2010

Wiggins in the opening time trial of the 2010 Giro d'Italia

Wiggins began 2010 as a team leader for the first time. He was part of the team who won the team time trial on stage one of the 2010 Tour of Qatar. On May 10, he took his first major win of the year, in the opening time trial[21] of the Giro d'Italia and took the maglia rosa leader's jersey. It was his first win at a Grand Tour. He lost the jersey on stage 2 to Cadel Evans following a crash-marred stage.[22] He lost further time early on in the Giro, but recovered much of it on stage 11, in which he finished fourth. He faded quickly towards the end of the race, however, losing a lot of time over the final stages to finish 40th.

Wiggins entered the 2010 Tour de France with high expectations following his 4th place the year before. His Tour got off to a disappointing start however, when he could only manage 77th place in the opening prologue, after an early starting position left him exposed to poor conditions.[23] Wiggins finished 8th on Stage 3, as cobblestones caught out a number of favourites.[24] However, in Stage 8 (the first mountain summit finish of the Tour), Wiggins could only manage 19th place, losing 1 minute 45 seconds to stage winner Andy Schleck.[25] Wiggins lost even more time the next day, on Stage 9, where he came 30th (losing 4 minutes 55 to the main contenders),[26] which effectively ended hopes of a top 10 finish. He finished the Tour in 24th place, 39 minutes 24 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador, and 7 places behind team-mate Thomas Löfkvist.[27]

Wiggins retained the British national time trial title at the National Championships.[28]

[edit] 2011

Wiggins was again team leader of Sky entering 2011. He opted against entering the 2011 Giro d'Italia, concentrating instead on shorter events and the classics, before undertaking altitude training to improve his climbing for the Tour de France.[29] Wiggins finished 3rd overall in Paris-Nice after finishing 2nd in Stage 6.[30] In March, he finished 2nd on the TT Stage 3 of the Critérium International. Wiggins won the ITT Stage 4 of Bayern-Rundfahrt, and finished the event in 14th place overall (and helping team-mate Geraint Thomas to win the event),[31] before heading off for altitude training in preparation for the Tour de France. He took the overall lead of the Critérium du Dauphiné after finishing 2nd on the ITT Stage 3.[32] On the final three mountain stages Wiggins was able to maintain his lead over second placed Cadel Evans (who would go on to win the Tour de France) to win Dauphiné, his biggest victory in road racing.[33] On 26 June, Wiggins won the British National Road Race Championships,[34] his final race before the Tour de France. On 8 July, he crashed out of the 2011 Tour de France on stage 7 with a broken collarbone.[35]

Following recovery from his injuries, it was confirmed by Team Sky that Wiggins would ride Vuelta a España for the first time,[36] as well as the World Time Trial Championships. Wiggins also confirmed he would ride the 2012 Tour de France, despite the London Olympics coming soon after, and the Vuelta/ Time Trial Championships was seen as a dress-rehearsal for 2012.[37]

Wiggins at the time trials in the 2011 UCI Road World Championships

Wiggins had a difficult start to the Vuelta as Sky finished 42 seconds back on the opening Team Time Trial in Benidorm.[38] However, a strong first week brought Wiggins back into contention, leaving him 19th overall after Stage 8.[39] On Stage 9, Wiggins and teammate Chris Froome attacked on the final climb to finish 4th and 5th respectively, and taking time out of Joaquim Rodríguez, Michele Scarponi and other contenders.[40] The stage moved both riders up in the standings, and Wiggins was expected to take the overall lead on the time trial the following day. However, Froome sprung a major surprise, finishing second on the stage, taking the red jersey for himself, whilst Wiggins rose to third overall.[41] Wiggins took the leaders jersey, after the rest day. After losing a few seconds to Vincenzo Nibali on the following days, Stage 14 saw Wiggins and Froome taking time out of most of their rivals, with Nibali losing over a minute.[42] Wiggins lost the lead of the Vuelta to Juan José Cobo on Stage 15, where he finished 5th on the climb up the Angliru.[43] The Stage saw Wiggins drop to 3rd in the standings, with Froome ahead in second. Wiggins finished the Vuelta in 3rd overall, his first grand tour podium.[44]

In September, Wiggins finished second behind Tony Martin in the UCI Road World Championship Time Trial to take the silver medal.[45] Four days later, Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that set up Mark Cavendish's victory in the Road Race.[46]

[edit] 2012

Although 2012 is an Olympic year, Wiggins' focus is likely to remain on road racing. The individual pursuit is no longer an Olympic event, and in December 2011 coach Rod Ellingworth told The Guardian, "The chances of him doing the team pursuit are really slim now". [47] Wiggins is more likely to compete in the Olympic Road Race and Time Trial.

[edit] Palmarès


[edit] Olympic Games

2000 Summer Olympics
Bronze medal olympic.svg Bronze, team pursuit
2004 Summer Olympics
Gold medal olympic.svg Gold, 4km individual pursuit
Silver medal olympic.svg Silver, team pursuit
Bronze medal olympic.svg Bronze, madison
2008 Summer Olympics
Gold medal olympic.svg Gold, 4km individual pursuit
Gold medal olympic.svg Gold, team pursuit

[edit] World Championships

1997 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, 2km individual pursuit
2000 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, team pursuit
2001 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, team pursuit
2002 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Bronze medal blank.svg Bronze, team pursuit
2003 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, 4km individual pursuit
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, team pursuit
2007 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, 4km individual pursuit
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, team pursuit
2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, 4km individual pursuit
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, Team pursuit (world record time)
Gold medal blank.svg Gold, madison
2011 UCI Road World Championships
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, individual time trial

[edit] Commonwealth Games

2002 Commonwealth Games
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, 4km individual pursuit
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, team pursuit
1998 Commonwealth Games
Silver medal blank.svg Silver, team pursuit

[edit] Professional Cycling Major Achievements

2003
1st Stage 1 ITT, Tour de l'Avenir
1st Six Days of Ghent
2005
1st Stage 2 ITT, Circuit de Lorraine
1st Stage 8 Tour de l'Avenir
2007
1st Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stage 1 ITT Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Stage 4 ITT Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne
1st Duo Normand
Combativity award Jersey red number.svg Stage 6, Tour de France
2009
1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG British National Time Trial Championships
1st Overall Herald Sun Tour
1st Stage 5 ITT
1st Stage 1 TTT, Tour of Qatar
1st Stage 3b ITT, Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde
1st Beaumont Trophy
4th Overall 2009 Tour de France
2010
1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG British National Time Trial Championships
1st Stage 1 TTT Tour of Qatar
1st Stage 1 ITT Giro d'Italia
Held Maglia Rosa Jersey pink.svg for Stage 1
2011
1st MaillotReinoUnido.PNG British National Road Race Championships
1st Overall Jersey yellow-bluebar.svg Critérium du Dauphiné
2nd Stage 3
1st Stage 4 Bayern-Rundfahrt
2nd Silver medal blank.svg UCI Road World Championship Time Trial
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
3rd Stage 2 Tour de France (TTT)
3rd Overall Vuelta a España
4th Stage 9
3rd Stage 10
5th Stage 15
Held Red Jerseygolden jersey from Stage 11–15

[edit] Grand Tour General Classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Pink jersey Giro 123 - - 134 71 40 -
Yellow jersey Tour - 124 WD - 4 24 WD
golden jersey Vuelta - - - - - - 3

WD = withdrew

[edit] World records

  • 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:55:202, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008
  • 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:53:314, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008

[edit] Quotes

  • "Most people were too drunk to notice me." On his experiences of late-night practice runs for the London leg of the Tour de France.[48]
  • "It is nice to be recognised for actually achieving something in life as opposed to spending seven weeks in a house on TV with a load of other muppets." A reference to the television programme, Big Brother, after finishing fourth in the Tour de France prologue.[49]
  • "I think that when you sit back and look at the season and see what has happened, I think you reflect on it with a bit of happiness, but when you finish third, you haven't won and we live for winning unfortunately." On finishing third in the 2011 Vuelta a España.[50]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Athlete Biography – WIGGINS Bradley". Beijing Olympics official website. http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/8/225168.shtml. 
  2. ^ Wiggins, Bradley (8 April 2007). "Sport blog: Looking down from Herne Hill, I can see the future is bright". London: Guardian Unlimited. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/04/08/looking_down_from_herne_hill_i.html. Retrieved 26 April 2010. 
  3. ^ Mike Pattenden (2008-08-24). "On the move: Bradley Wiggins". London: The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article4588225.ece. Retrieved 2009-07-26. 
  4. ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blog/blazin-saddles/article/2742/wiggins-on-the-rise/
  5. ^ Speck, Ivan (18 August 2008). "Stylish modfather Wiggins is on the trail of Olympic legend Steve Redgrave". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-1046602/Stylish-modfather-Wiggins-trail-Olympic-legend-Steve-Redgrave.html. 
  6. ^ Lewis, Tim (26 October 2008). "My obsessions: Bradley Wiggins". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/oct/26/cycling-bradley-wiggins. 
  7. ^ a b "Wiggins wheels his way to history". BBC SPORT. 31 December 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/4135289.stm. 
  8. ^ "Wiggins' Cofidis team out of Tour". BBC SPORT. 25 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6916422.stm. 
  9. ^ "GB pursuit team set world record". BBC Sport. 17 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/cycling/7566164.stm. 
  10. ^ "GB storm to gold in team pursuit". BBC Sport. 18 August 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/cycling/7567845.stm. 
  11. ^ "Official Results". Beijing 2008. 20 July 2009. http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/CT/C73H/CTM409100.shtml#CTM409101. 
  12. ^ "In Pursuit of Glory". Orion Books. http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/HB-43193/In-Pursuit-of-Glory.htm. 
  13. ^ "BRADLEY WIGGINS SET TO JOIN GARMIN-CHIPOTLE". Cycling Weekly. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Bradley_Wiggins_set_to_join_GarminChipotle_article_266739.html. 
  14. ^ "Sports Personality – The Full Results". Cycling Weekly. 2008-12-15. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/Sports_personality_the_full_results_article_273946.html. 
  15. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58929. p. 8. 31 December 2008.
  16. ^ "Wiggins stays with leaders in Tour de France". Cycling Weekly. 12 July 2009. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/382663/wiggins-stays-with-leaders-in-tour-de-france.html. 
  17. ^ Macur, Juliet (15 July 2009). "Wiggins Erases the Bitterness of 2007 Tour". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/sports/cycling/16tour.html. Retrieved 26 April 2010. 
  18. ^ Robert Millar came fourth in 1984
  19. ^ "Wiggins and Pooley take British TT Champs titles". Cycling Weekly. 2009-09-06. http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/395970/wiggins-and-pooley-take-british-tt-champs-titles.html. 
  20. ^ William Fotheringham (2009-12-10). "Bradley Wiggins joins Team Sky on four-year-deal". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/dec/10/bradley-wiggins-team-sky-transfer. 
  21. ^ http://velonews.competitor.com/?p=114776
  22. ^ http://velonews.competitor.com/?p=114784
  23. ^ http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/475500/team-sky-s-decision-to-put-wiggins-off-early-back-fires.html 15-07-2011 10:29 UTC
  24. ^ http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2010/07/06/2010-tour-de-france-stage-3-results/ 15-07-2011 10:31 UTC
  25. ^ http://www.bikeworldnews.com/2010/07/11/2010-tour-de-france-stage-8-results/ 15-07-2011 10:33 UTC
  26. ^ http://www.roadcycling.com/articles/2010-Tour-de-France-Results---Stage-9_003716.shtml 15-07-2011 10:52 UTC
  27. ^ http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/07/news/2010-tour-de-france-stage-20-results_123035#gc 15-07-2011 10:53 UTC
  28. ^ http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/wiggins-and-pooley-win-british-time-trial-championships-27634/ 15-07-2011 10:34 UTC
  29. ^ http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6262/Bradley-Wiggins-plans-new-structure-to-2011-season-in-preparing-for-Tour-de-France.aspx
  30. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/9423659.stm 15-07-2011 10:38 UTC
  31. ^ http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/527271/thomas-wins-bayern-rundfahrt-overall.html 15-07-2011 10:41 UTC
  32. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cycling/13702632.stm 15-07-2011 10:42 UTC
  33. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (13 June 2011). The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/cycling-wiggins-seals-dauphin233-triumph-2296798.html. 
  34. ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,15264_7006262,00.html 27-6-2011 09:00 BST
  35. ^ "Tour de France: Wiggins crashes out, Cavendish wins stage". BBC Sport. 8 July 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cycling/14086677.stm. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
  36. ^ http://www.teamsky.com/article/0,27290,17546_7063928,00.html
  37. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (27 July 2011). The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/cycling-wiggins-set-to-put-tour-before-olympic-hopes-2326362.html. 
  38. ^ "Sky struggle in first Spain stage". BBC News. 20 August 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cycling/14604867.stm. 
  39. ^ http://www.roadcycling.com/articles/2011-Vuelta-a-Espana-Results---Stage-8_004566.shtml
  40. ^ http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=19257
  41. ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/29082011/58/vuelta-espa-froome-red-martin-takes-itt.html
  42. ^ Vuelta-a-Espana-stage-14-Bradley-Wiggins-tightens-grip-on-overall-lead-after-Rein-Taaramae-wins-on-mountain-top
  43. ^ Fotheringham, William (4 September 2011). "Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky loses lead on stage 15 of Vuelta a España". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/sep/04/team-sky-bradley-wiggins-vuelta-a-espana. 
  44. ^ http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/530034/froome-and-wiggins-finish-on-vuelta-podium.html
  45. ^ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/21092011/58/martin-beats-wiggins-itt-gold.html 21 September 2011 16:06 BST
  46. ^ Williams, Ollie (25 September 2011). "World Road Cycling: Mark Cavendish and Britain win road race title". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cycling/15052681.stm. Retrieved 25 September 2011. 
  47. ^ "Bradley Wiggins unlikely to defend team pursuit gold at London 2012". \The Guardian. 02 December 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/dec/02/bradley-wiggins-pursuit-london-2012?newsfeed=true. 
  48. ^ "Quotes of the Week". BBC News. 2007-07-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/6900962.stm. 
  49. ^ "Fun and Games:Quotes of the Week". BBC News. 17 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/funny_old_game/6900962.stm. 
  50. ^ "Chris Froome of Britain takes second as Juan Jose Cobo wins Vuelta". BBC News. 11 September 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cycling/14871144.stm. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bradley Wiggins
Riders on Team Sky
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bradley_Wiggins&oldid=473172949"
Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Interaction
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages