Bradley Wiggins Compares Setting Cycling Record To Childbirth: ‘Just Torturous’

Bradley Wiggins has set the UCI World Hour record for most distance covered on a bicycle within one hour, and it was exhausting. After going 33.88 miles (54.526 kilometers), the Olympic gold medalist cyclist gave some ideas about what it’s like to set a record.

CNN reports that Wiggins had enough strength after his hour was up to lift his track bike over his head in celebration, but he still told Sky Sports the journey was “just torturous.”

“It’s the closest I’ll ever come to knowing what it’s like to have a baby, just torturous… When you are out there you never think it’s going to come to an end.”

Bradley Wiggins broke the UCI record on Sunday in Lee Valley VeloPark in east London, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The previous record-holder, Alex Dowsett, had just made his mark in Manchester last month, going 32.89 miles (52.937 kilometers). The man before Dowsett went 52.491 kilometers in February.

Wiggins might have to watch out with record after record being broken in a short amount of time.

Still, Bradley Wiggins has plenty of other accomplishments to feel good about. Aside from four gold medals in the Olympics, the cyclist won the 2012 Tour de France, an accomplishment he describes as even more difficult, according to the Guardian.

“I wouldn’t say it [UCI World Record] was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You try leading the Tour for two weeks, looking over your shoulder every day. But it’s a quantifiable record, which is what draws me to it. It will never surpass the Tour in intensity or difficulty but it’s such a pure thing. There are no ifs or buts.”

Nevertheless, the UCI record is considered one of the toughest challenges in cycling, and the 35-year-old Wiggins had to undergo six weeks of grueling training to prepare.

But there’s one inevitability that comes from breaking a record like the UCI – a sore butt.

Bradley Wiggins explained.

“It’s one of the inevitables of riding the track. It was the last 10 minutes, I noticed that more than anything. It’s hard to sit down at the moment. No shying away from that, luckily I had a decent saddle. I don’t know how Eddy Merckx did it on one of those plastic things.”

Wiggins said his next goal will be to increase his gold medal collection at next year’s Olympic Games in Rio. After those games, Bradley Wiggins plans to retire from the world of competitive cycling.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]