Bradley Wiggins first sprung on to the international cycling scene as a junior in 1997 when he won the World Junior Pursuit title. It didn’t take long for Brad to establish himself as one of the most accomplished track cyclists in the world. His transition from junior to senior was seamless as he won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 as part of the British Team Pursuit squad.  He then followed this up with the Individual World Pursuit title in 2003 as he became the dominant force in world pursuiting.  In 2004 Brad continued to dominate endurance track racing coming away from the Olympic Games in Athens with a full set of medals as the most successful British Olympian in 40 years.  Brad won Gold and set an Olympic Record in the 4Km Individual Pursuit, Silver in the Team Pursuit, then completed the set with Bronze in the Madison.  After the 2004 Olympics Brad started to turn his attention to the road, in the mid 2000’s he rode for Credit Agricole before moving to Cofidis and then High Road.  As the 2008 Beijing Olympics approached Brad once again turned his attention to the track.  His silky smooth riding style on the boards of the velodrome did not let him down, he soon picked up where he had previously left off and came away from the Games with two Gold medals to add to his collection.  Once again he dominated the Individual Pursuit then helped his fellow Brits to a World and Olympic Record in the Team Pursuit.

After the Beijing Olympics’ Brad expressed a desire to take his success from the boards onto the road and set about establishing himself as a stage racer and GC contender in Grand Tours.  Riding for Team Garmin Brad narrowly missed the Podium as he finished 4th in the 2009 Tour de France, equaling the highest position ever achieved by a British rider.  In 2010 Brad moved teams and became team leader at the newly formed British pro tour team backed by Sky.  In what can only be described as a challenging year, the new team and Brad will admit that they did not live up to their usual high expectations, despite Brad wearing the Maglia Rosa at the Giro.  With renewed vigor and determination Brad and the team bounced back stronger and more focused in 2011.  He started the year well finishing 3rd overall in Paris-Nice and then went on to take overall victory in the Criterium du Dauphine.  Brad was in the form of his life at the Tour de France until disaster struck on stage 7; his race was over when he crashed out with a broken collarbone.  Within hours of the crash he was already planning an assault on the Vuelta a Espana and World Championships.   His 3rd place finish in the Vuelta a Espana was followed by a Silver medal in the World Time Trial Championships, and he was one of the strong men in the team that helped Mark Cavendish take the World Road Race Championship.

As Brad finished the 2011 season his focus immediately switched to 2012 as he set his stall out in establishing himself as the greatest British stage racer of all time.  As we approach the critical point of the season, the rider known as Wiggo in the peloton or sticks to his teammates is in outstanding condition.  He became the first Brit to take overall victory in Paris-Nice since Tom Simpson back in 1967, he also claimed the overall point’s classification as he rode in yellow from stage 2 through to the finish in Nice.  He then backed this up with overall victory at the Tour of Romandie.  In Romandie he surprised the peloton by winning the bunch sprint in stage 2 and also took victory in the final hilly time trial despite shipping his chain.

The Queen has twice recognized Brad’s achievements; he was awarded the OBE in the 2005 New Year’s honours list and the CBE in 2009.

Brad grew up living in London, as his career developed he moved north to be closer to the National Cycling Centre and has now lived in the North West for over 10 years.