Bradley Wiggins has announced that he is retiring from professional cycling. The announcement was made on the Team Wiggins Facebook page, where the Briton said that “2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards.”
Wiggins turned pro for the Linda McCartney Racing Team back in 2001 and after that team collapsed, he went on to race for Française des Jeux, Crédit Agricole, Cofidis, Team High Road and Garmin–Slipstream.
In his early years, he enjoyed most of his success on the track. Amongst the numerous medals he won were Olympic gold in the individual pursuit (2004 and 2008) and team pursuit (2008 and 2016). In addition, he won numerous World and Commonwealth games medals in the pursuit, team pursuit and Madison and in June 2015, he broke the World Hour record with a distance of 54.526 kms.
In 2010, he signed for Team Sky where he took his biggest wins on the road. In 2012, he enjoyed his most successful season where he took numerous victories including Paris-Nice, the Tour de Romandie and Critérium du Dauphiné overall before taking the biggest win of his career – the Tour de France.
This year has been a difficult one for the Briton. In September, his personal medical history was leaked by the group of hackers known as Fancy Bears. The leak showed that Wiggins had used six Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) during his career to allow use of substances banned by WADA. These included three intramuscular injections of the drug triamcinolone, a powerful corticosteroid.
Bradley Wiggins: “I have been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil my childhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport I fell in love with at the age of 12. I’ve met my idols and ridden with and alongside the best for 20 years. I have worked with the world’s best coaches and managers who I will always be grateful to for their support.
“What will stick with me forever is the support and love from the public though thick and thin, all as a result of riding a pushbike for a living. 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.
“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.”
