"You fall in and out of love with things" - Bradley Wiggins about his complicated relationship with cycling

Tour de France 2012 winner and Olympic champion, Sir Bradley Wiggins has opened up about his often difficult relationship with cycling and the personal issues and trauma it has created in his life, as reports continue to emerge about his financial difficulties.   

His success and persona made Wiggins hugely popular in Great Britain, but also intensified his love-hate relationship with the sport "I’ve always been around cycling, and as much as I’ve tried to push it away in the past, I realised that it’s always going to be there," Wiggins told Cycling Weekly.

"You fall in and out of love with things, or you have enough of it, or at times it becomes an obsession like it did for me," he says of cycling. After a period of time where he wouldn't even watch any racing, he says that he's now found "a happy balance".

But during his glory days, it was really hard for Wiggins to find his identity as (not just cycling) star. "I had this extreme confidence on the bike, but off it - when I look back - I was quite contentious at times. I was quite sweary and I could be hot and cold some days. And particularly the veil I adopted when I was this rock and roll star in 2012, the drinking and stuff... it was a way of hiding in public to disguise and distract from who I really was," he explained.

"I got stuck in my own little world," Wiggins admitted but now understands that the affection of the cycling public is helpful. "Cycling is just part of the fabric of who I am and I don’t want to label it as love or not love. I’m slowly edging my way back in... It’s something I’ve embraced again but not fallen in love with... I’m still keeping it at arm’s length."