Bradley Wiggins on winning the Tour de France and Olympic - "Wished it hadn’t happened, life was never the same again"

Bradley Wiggins has been retired for over six years now, and his life has undergone significant changes since his days in the peloton. Recently, he revealed some harsh truths about his cycling career.

In 2012, he achieved the unique feat of winning both the Tour de France and an Olympic Gold, but he described that phase as "horrible in so many ways" during his talk at Cambridge Union. It brought about a momentous change in his life, and as time passed, he "fleeted back and forth and wished it hadn't happened, life was never the same again."

He highlights that the cycling community is not as picturesque as it seems externally, and there is intense competition among team members. “You’re there to be shot at by everyone else, your teammates as well. You have to be selfish, you have to put everyone else second.”

He continues, “Your life is the centre of the world in terms of everyone around you. And everyone has to put up with it because this is what they have to do, this is the sacrifice you have to make.”

He discussed how he has opted to move away from cycling and is now seeking out new directions in his life. “I was too involved with cycling for so many years. I just kind of wanted to do something else. Things come along when you least expect them,” concluded Wiggins.