INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Bradley Wiggins Confirms Retirement After 20-Year Career, 5 Olympic Gold Medals, Historical Tour De France Win

By Glenn Hadley
Published on: 03:47 PST, Dec 28, 2016

Sir Bradley Wiggins retires from the world of professional cycling after an impressive 20-year career filled with awards, accolades, and historic victories.

The 36-year-old Olympic gold medalist confirmed his retirement decision on Instagram Wednesday with a photo that speaks volumes about his accomplishments over the past two decades. “Wiggo” used the photo caption’s caption to reflect on his career, the fulfillment of his childhood dream and express his gratitude for the amazing people that have been part of his personal and professional journeys over the years.

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.

A photo posted by Sir Wiggo (@bradwiggins) on

As mentioned in his emotionally-stirring statement, Bradley Wiggins’ journey towards making history as a professional cyclist started at a very young age. 12-year-old “Wiggo” entered his very first race in the West London Challenge back in 1992. During a November 2012 interview with The Guardian, Wiggins claimed that he knew at that young age that he would undoubtedly become a successful cyclist.

When his art teacher asked him what he was going to do after leaving school, he told her that he was “going to be Olympic champion” and “wear the yellow jersey in the Tour.” How did his teacher respond to his statement? Bradley stated that she laughed and then asked him what was he really going to do.

Wiggins apparently did not allow his art teacher’s laughter to hold him back from turning that childhood pipe dream into a reality. Nearly six years later at the age of 18, according to Daily Mail, Bradley Wiggins won his first senior medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Bradley walked away from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a first-time medalist, earning the silver medal in team pursuit. That was apparently just a starting point for Wiggins when it came to Olympic medals. From the first medal he won in Sydney to his fifth trip to the Olympic Games at Rio in 2016, Bradley Wiggins earned a total of 8 Olympic medals – two bronze, one silver, and five gold.

Wiggins openly discussed the downs of his career along with the ups in his interview with the Guardian — including the grim reality that he faced in his personal life even after becoming the first British athlete to win three Olympic medals in nearly 40 years while still in his mid-20s. Bradley admits that he thought he would become an overnight millionaire after winning the Olympics, but was faced to realize the hard truth of “scraping the barrel” financially.

His wife Catherine becoming pregnant with their first child served as a major wake-up call for Bradley, helping him to straighten out his priorities in life to focus on what really mattered the most.

He stated that the tattooed B’s on his thumbs served as reminders of his two kids Ben and Bella — a reminder that would help him to stay focused during time trials. Wiggins claimed that he would stare at his thumbs to remind himself of why he was doing it in the first place.

“When I’m on the start line of an Olympic final, I look at them and think, ‘You know what?’ This ain’t life or death. So all I can do is try and do my best. Nobody’s going to shoot me if I don’t win. And at that moment I go, ‘Let’s do it!'”

Bradley often refers to 2012 as a “golden year” for him and his professional career. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the year was when he made history. Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Just a few days later, Wiggins won the individual time trial gold at the London Olympics essentially in front of his hometown crowd.

Even with that type of monumental accomplishment up his sleeve, Wiggins still maintained a very humble perspective when it came to his Tour de France win. According to Wiggins, he found it hard to be the winner of the Tour “and everything that goes with it” — especially after the scandals surrounding Lance Armstrong.

“I wanted to be the winner for the challenge of what the sporting event is about and how hard you can train to do that, and I never wanted all the stuff that went with it.”

As mentioned in his retirement statement on Instagram, Bradley Wiggins claims that he could not have done any of it without the support of his wife and kids.

Since the days of his professional cycling career are behind him, “Sir Wiggo” can continue focusing on spending plenty of quality time with his family instead of his racing bicycle. However, the inspirational impact Wiggins made within the sport has built a legacy for Wiggins that will last for many years to come.

[Featured Image by Pavel Golovkin/AP Photo]

Share this article: Bradley Wiggins Confirms Retirement After 20-Year Career, 5 Olympic Gold Medals, Historical Tour De France Win
London Olympics Tour de France
More from Inquisitr