With the news of Bradley Wiggins’ new cycling team hitting the media last week, the British cycling legend finds himself sitting again in the spotlight, albeit for different reasons.
As you can expect, we thought we’d use this as an excuse to give you 5 facts you may not know about the Yellow Jersey winner. You’ll know that Sir Bradley Wiggins took Gold at the London 2012 Olympic Time Trial, and that he stole the show at the 2012 Tour de France, but unless you were hibernating under a rock for the last two years, who doesn’t?
What you didn’t know about Bradley Wiggins:
(Image source: William Morice)
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Bradley's first team had connections with a Beatle
A young Bradley Wiggins was first signed to the Linda McCartney Racing Team, a road cycling outfit launched by Linda McCartney Foods. Linda McCartney Foods was started by Linda McCartney (obviously?), long-time wife and band-member (Wings) of Sir Paul McCartney.
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Wiggo was the first British Tour de France Winner, but he's also a man of Europe
Bradley Wiggins was born in Ghent, located in the Flanders region of Belgium. Wiggins’ Father was based there as a professional cyclist, so naturally Bradley was born on the continent, where he could get a feel for the tour life. Today, Bradley speaks fluent French due to his connection with the teams he was part of. He also lived in France for a period.
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He's a massive rugby league fan
In 2012, Wiggo presented then-Wigan Warriors Fullback Sam Tomkins with the Super league’s Man of Steel Award. As a fan of the club, Bradley Wiggins was given a lifetime membership to the club in 2012, and he also appeared in this pretty cool advert alongside Sam Tomkins:
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Bradley's mod influences are more than just skin deep
The media was quick to highlight Wiggo’s Paul Weller-esque haircut and RAF roundel on his gear, but Bradley’s mod influences are deeply embedded in his everyday life. With a penchant for collecting classic scooters and wearing a smart tonic suit, Wiggins is always sharply dressed and seems to emanate the cool vibes of a timeless modernist. Add to this his on-stage collaboration with the ‘Modfather’ Paul Weller, and his Fred Perry clothing line, and you’re looking at a true mod, through and through. The fact he never openly boasts about it just makes it cooler.
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Bradley rode for a total of six teams in his career before joining Team Sky
Many of us will know the Bradley Wiggins who zoomed around in his all black kit, and he was relatively unknown in the road cycling world before this, save for his track exposure for Great Britain. In terms of team road cycling, Wiggins has ridden for: Linda McCartney Racing Team (2001), Française des Jeux (2002-2003), Crédit Agricole (2004-2005), Cofidis (2006-2007), Team High Road (2008), Garmin-Slipstream (2009), and Team Sky (2010-2014).
(Feature image source: Denismenchov08)