Bradley Wiggins opens up about being abused by his first cycling coach: "I had wished I never started cycling"
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Five-time Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins has opened up about being sexually abused by his cycling coach when he entered the sport at the age of 13.
Wiggins alleges he was sexually assaulted by the elderly coach, who has since passed away, for three years. Speaking on the Original Penguin X Campaign Against Living Miserably Under The Surface Podcast, Wiggins said: "The biggest thing that influenced my life the most, which I've come to terms with, is I was sexually abused when I was 13 by my first coach."
Wiggins went on to join his father's former cycling club following the 1992 Olympics, which is where he first met the coach. "I was introduced to a guy that night who was the club coach, so I joined the club that night - no one asked if I wanted to - they said 'this guy's the coach he's going to look after you'," he explained.
"He was a 72-year-old ex-military policeman, and he felt my pulse, he had this thing about feeling kids' pulses, he said he'd never felt anything like the strength of my pulse before. I realise now this was all part of manipulation, but he said I was going to be the greatest cyclist this country had ever produced."
"And I believed him, he used to tell everyone this wherever we went. The contradiction is he was the one who made me fall in love with myself, but he also sexually abused me for three years in between the ages of 13 and 16. And because of what he was saying, that's why he got away with it."
"I reckon I was drugged with this guy. I know we were drugged. I had wished I never started cycling, because I would never had met this guy. But now, I would never change a thing, it has made me the person I am today, and I'm glad I am who I am today," he concludes.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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