"Because of this the debts got up to almost 1.5 million pounds" - Sir Bradley Wiggins opens up on financial regret as struggles continue

One of the biggest names in the history of British cycling, just over a decade ago, Sir Bradley Wiggins was on top of the world, winning the Tour de France and Olympic gold at the London games in 2012. Fast forward twelve years however, and in 2024 the 44-year-old is in deep financial difficulty.

“One of the things I regret is not paying attention to my finances when I was racing,” explains Wiggins in conversation with Lance Armstrong on the latter's podcast. “I was convinced that money would always be there. It’s something that happens to athletes, you earn a lot and if you don’t pay attention people take advantage of you. I should have been more careful, also because I find myself in this situation because of the chaos that was created and because this thing went on for years, it didn’t happen overnight.”

Having been declared bankrupt and even reportedly homeless, due to the financial concerns, as Wiggins mentioned, he believes certain third parties took advantage of him over the years. “I went bankrupt through one company. I had three companies: the one that managed my image rights and my sponsorships, then I joined XIX Entertainment in 2014 and they signed deals with different clubs and companies, and drinks suppliers and so on," explains the Brit.

"Then there was a third company, called New Cycling Limited, which was Team Wiggins, which I set up to help the British national track programme, specifically the team pursuit, which was my ultimate goal in Rio. That team was never supposed to make any money or make any losses, it was just to pay the riders and manage the team budget,” he continues. "There was a lot of money flowing from the main company to the others to finance those initiatives that were not bringing in money. Because of this the debts got up to almost 1.5 million pounds, which were then transferred to me as the director of the company without my knowledge as I was still riding at the time.”

Another issue came from the contract Wiggins signed with Team Sky. "Sky knew this situation would occur from the day I signed with them,” accuses the five-time Olympic champion, explaining how because he was no longer classed as 'freelance' but rather 'an employee', meaning Wiggins had years of backdated taxes to pay as a result.

"Someone must have provided information to the press and that's where the sensationalism surrounding this story came from," Wiggins concludes. "But everything will be fine."