SPORT: Bradley Wiggins, the winner of the Tour de France in 2012 has announced his retirement from the sport …
The winner of the 2012 Tour de France announced his retirement on Wednesday. 36 years old, he remains the first British to win the Tour de France. Bradley Wiggins began his career at the French Games, before flying to the summit in particular winning the Tour de France, against the clock or Olympic cycling track events.
Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour de France in 2012 and five times Olympic gold medalist on road and track, announced on Wednesday his retirement at the age of 36, while the doping suspicions multiply around him since September.
“I was lucky enough to (…) realize my childhood dream to make a living by practicing the sport I fell in love when I was 12” , he has written on his Facebook page accompanied by a photo of her rainbow sky world champion jerseys, medals and other trophies.
“I met my idols and ran from the best for 20 years. I worked with the best coaches and managers, to whom I will always be grateful for their support “ , he said.
“Wiggo” hangs up his bike with a rich charts on both road and track. He is the only rider to have won gold at the Games and World Championships on both surfaces.
Eight Olympic medals
Eight-time medalist at the Olympic games in five editions (5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze), the native of Ghent (Belgium), had added a gold more to his collection this summer in Rio, winning the team pursuit .
One who is now the boss of his own structure Wiggins Team (continental level, 3rd division) also wore the jersey of the three Grand Tours (France, Spain, Italy) and holds the world record time (54.526 km June 7, 2015 in London).
His career has peaked in 2012: after his coronation in the Tour de France, becoming the first Briton to triumph on the Champs-Elysees, he chained by an iconic Olympic success, at home in London, in the individual against the clock .
“What will stay with me forever is the support and love of the audience through all the tests” , confessed Wiggins in his message farewell.
“2012 was an amazing year, and worked as a driver for me. Cycling has given me everything, and I would not have done without the support of my wonderful wife Cath and our wonderful children, “ added Wiggins, born of an Australian professional cyclist father and a British mother, and who was raised in Kilburn, an area of north-west London.
Head in the clouds
“2016 is the end of the road for this chapter. Kilburn children who have their feet on the ground and head in the clouds do not win Olympic gold and the Tour de France! Now they do. “
His success on the track or on the road, as its sometimes irreverent statements, his patriotism, his passion for the Royal Air Force (he sometimes ran with badges of the RAF and the team uniform has the same design) had made him a character beloved of the British. Queen Elizabeth II was even knighted in 2013.
Sir Bradley will have thus participated in his last race last month in the Six Days of Ghent, where he was born. He won the Flemish track with compatriot Mark Cavendish.
The end of his brilliant career was marred by doping suspicions, during his visit to the Sky. Wiggins and Sky leaders are currently being investigated by the British Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) for medical package received before the Tour de France 2011. The shipment contained a nasal decongestant, assured Dave Brailsford, manager of the Sky.
The winner of the 2012 Tour de France had to defend in mid-September of doping charges raised by the publication of confidential information by the group of computer hackers “Fancy Bears”. “Wiggo” explained having enjoyed an applicable Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to take a banned substance.
The leak revealed that Wiggins had received injections of a banned steroid, triamcinolone to treat his asthma before three major races (the Tour de France 2011 and 2012 and the Giro 2013).
