Ben Wiggins is preparing to be ready "to move to WorldTour next year" if everything goes well
Cycling
The 19-year-old Ben Wiggins is yet to fully show himself on the road but despite that, he doesn't aim any lower than to turn professional with Jayco AlUla already in 2026. The young Briton comes from a renowned family - after all his father Bradley Wiggins has won Tour de France and is also Olympic gold medallist on track. But Ben wants to pave his own path in the peloton, despite coming from a similar background as a successful youth trackie.
Speaking of his potential, Ben wants to discover all the possibilities: "I don't want to put any limits on myself. I'm really ambitious. That's where I want to be. But that'll be, like, probably 10 years down the line from now," Wiggins told The Telegraph.
In past years, several top UK track cyclists made a transition to become top GC contenders capable of winning even Tour de France (Bradley Wiggins 2012, Geraint Thomas 2018). Ben is not opposed to winning a Grand Tour for himself, even though general classification, nor climbing in general, are his strongest domains at the moment.
"There's definitely a blueprint for me making it to Grand Tours in the long term, whether it's my dad or guys like G [Geraint Thomas], strong track and TT specialists who went on to contend for general classifications in Grand Tours. But that's not really my focus at the minute. We're talking much further down the line."
"I think I'm developing in a way to move to WorldTour next year. But if it doesn't happen straight away that's fine," he said. "I stagiaired for Jayco-AlUla last year and that was really good. So going there would be my first choice, I'd say at this point. But we'll see how I progress this year. I could win 10 races and have my choice of anywhere. But certainly, the support they've shown me early in my career, I'll definitely be giving them first dibs."
"We speak all the time. And he's doing super good. I'm very proud of him," he said about the strong bond he maintains with his father despite all the negative things the surfaced in media over past year.
Ben then credited his upbringing for preparing him for the life of a pro and the pressures that come with that as a professional athlete. "I think, if anything, it’s taught me what to do differently, and how to manage it. I mean, no one prepares you for that level of success. But I'm incredibly lucky that I kind of feel like I would be prepared. But I'm not chasing fame, I’m not chasing money, I'm chasing success. They're things that come with it, aren't they? I'll deal with them if and when I make it."
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