Sir Bradley Wiggins, CBE

Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British professional track and road cyclist, riding for the UCI ProTeam Team Sky. He won the 2012 Tour de France, becoming the first British winner in its 99 year history. He is also the only cyclist to have won both a Grand Tour and a gold medal in Olympic track cycling.

History was made on 22 July 2012, when Bradley Wiggins became the first Englishman to win the Tour de France and so become Kilburn’s most famous sportsman.

References

• In-depth Mail Online article

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Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980), nicknamed "Wiggo", is a British professional road and track racing cyclist who rides for the UCI ProTeam Team Sky. Wiggins began his career on the track, but has made the transition to road cycling and is one of the few cyclists to gain significant elite level success in both forms of professional cycling.

Wiggins was born in Ghent, Belgium, before moving to London, where he began track cycling. He has won six gold medals at the track world championships, his first in 2003 and his most recent in 2008; three in the individual pursuit, two in the team pursuit and one in the Madison. He won a gold in the individual pursuit at the 2004 Olympic Games and two golds in the individual and team pursuit at the 2008 Olympic Games.

After the 2008 Olympics, Wiggins took a break from the track to focus on the road. Initially viewed as a time trial specialist and as a rouleur, he showed his ability in stage races when he came fourth in the 2009 Tour de France; he was later promoted to third after Lance Armstrong's results were annulled in 2012. In 2011 he claimed his first victory in a major stage race came in the Critérium du Dauphiné, and he also finished third in the Vuelta a España.

In 2012, Wiggins won the Paris–Nice, the Tour de Romandie, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France and the time trial at the Olympic Games. Following his success in 2012, Wiggins was the subject of several honours and awards; the Vélo d'Or award for best rider of the year, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and awarded a knighthood as part of the 2013 New Year Honours.