"I smashed all my trophies" - Bradley Wiggins tells how he's suffered from impostor syndrome

Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France and an Olympic Gold medal back in 2012 which made him a star in Great Britain, but also a knight. However, the former pro cyclist admits that he never felt like he deserved that at the time, and eventually he was to smash his trophies.

“The day I was knighted, impostor syndrome hit me hard. My knighthood did not coincide with other athletes, I was mainly among militay personnel," Wiggins admits in a BBC documentary series. “It was a lesson in humility standing in line with them. Soldiers who were missing limbs wanted to take pictures with me, but I didn't feel like a hero that day. I didn't think I was worthy of being knighted."

Over the past few years, the Brito has shared stories on how trauma from his childhood led him to become the pro cyclist that he was, and opened about the many mental issues that he's had throughout his pro career and afterward. Among them, he tells, was an occasion where he broke trophies that he carried from his year as a successful cyclist.

“I had a difficult period in 2019. My wife had a very hard time mentally and I also lost sight of the bigger picture. I smashed all my trophies. I kept the cycling medals and trophies for my victories, but they are together in a bag somewhere. My Olympic medals are also in a plastic bag.”