Sir Bradley Wiggins Is One of The Greatest Cyclists the Uk Has Produced.
He won five Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship titles in a long and distinguished career.
In 2012 he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Just ten days later he won Time Trial gold at the London Olympics then cemented his National Treasure status by being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The boom in cycling in the UK is often attributed to his exploits in that momentous year. Wiggins was knighted for services to cycling in 2013 and broke The Hour record in 2015. He retired from professional cycling at the end of 2016.
He joins us for his autobiography, _The Chain._ This is a raw and deeply personal memoir of self-discovery and mental resilience, from one of the UK's greatest sportsmen.
_'Back in 2012, everyone knew who Bradley Wiggins was. Everyone, that is, but me. Thirteen years after the summer that defined me, I have finally defined myself. The disguises have gone. I've made peace with myself.'_
Bradley Wiggins is the greatest British cyclist of his generation. A national hero on both track and road, he won five Olympic gold medals, eight world titles and the Tour de France. But his is a story tainted by contradiction, controversy and confusion.
Sat on a throne after winning gold at London 2012, just ten days after becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France, Bradley had the world at his feet.
_Sporting hero. People’s champion. Legend._
_Everyone knew who ‘Wiggo’ was._
_Everyone, that is, but him._
Bradley’s own truth was one of a chaotic and disturbing upbringing mired in abandonment, violence and abuse.
The bike had been his escape and on it he pushed himself to achieve unprecedented cycling success, but after retirement he descended into deep personal despair, marked by drug addiction that could have killed him.
Bradley had lost all sense of self-worth; publicly he presented himself as ‘Sir Wiggo’, the loveable rogue, but privately he was at breaking point.
Here is Bradley without the mask - embracing 100% honesty - sharing his journey back from the brink. Comfortable in his own skin for the first time, he has finally broken the chain.