With a remarkable tally of five Olympic gold medals, a prestigious knighthood, and a net worth estimated at £13 million, Bradley Wiggins appeared to possess everything one could desire.
Yet, in June, the celebrated athlete was declared bankrupt, with debts exceeding £1 million. This startling news revealed that he was homeless and couch-surfing at his ex-wife’s place after losing his £975,000 residence.
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Now 44, he has candidly discussed his struggles with depression and alcohol abuse, revealing that his 19-year-old son Ben once feared for his safety when he confined himself to a dark hotel room last November.
During a heartfelt interview on The High Performance Podcast, he shared, “I faced some extremely challenging times. The last major incident occurred nearly a year ago, but I won’t go into details.
“I found myself in a very bleak situation, locked away in a hotel room for days; only my son’s intervention made me recognize the self-destructive behavior I was exhibiting.
“There were numerous underlying issues contributing to that.”
“I continually encountered something that brought me distress, making it difficult to find peace; there always appeared to be something ominous on the horizon. Yet I have come to realize that a clear path may never materialize.
“I now understand that we are born into challenges, and how we address those challenges ultimately shapes our lives.”
“Initially, I resisted therapy. I thought, ‘No therapist could ever grasp what goes on in my mind’.”
He further mentioned that he is currently in a “happy place” and is dedicated to repaying a significant portion of his business’s debt, now totaling £2 million in the wake of his bankruptcy.
Wiggins acknowledged an unexpected ally in his journey – the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
The seven-time Tour de France champion, who was stripped of his medals and faced a lifetime ban due to doping admissions, has become a close friend and recently offered to cover his therapy expenses for the first time.
Brave Sir Bradley Wiggins reflects on the traumatic sexual abuse he endured as a child at the hands of a former cycling coach
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Initially hesitant to accept the offer, he now feels more prepared mentally to take this step.
He remarked, “Lance has been incredibly supportive over the years, particularly recently. We discussed the possibility of therapy, and he has offered to fund my week-long stay at a well-known facility in Atlanta.”
“He is someone with good intentions. Although his past is unfortunate, it doesn’t fully define him. He undoubtedly possesses a caring side.”
Struggles with Alcohol
Bradley began addressing his mental health issues two years ago, worsened by a traumatic childhood involving sexual abuse by a former coach.
His father, Gary, a cyclist, battled alcoholism and drug dependence, leaving the family when Bradley was just 18 months old, only to reappear in his life when Bradley was 19, after he achieved significant success in cycling.
Despite their reunion, his father harshly asserted that Bradley would “never be as great as your old man.”
In one of my darkest moments, I threw all my trophies off the mantelpiece because I thought, ‘What are these pointless things doing here?’
Bradley
From the ages of 13 to 16, Bradley endured sexual abuse at the hands of coach Stan Knight, who passed away in 2003.
Throughout his illustrious career, he secured eight Olympic medals, five of which are gold, and became the first Brit to win the Tour de France in 2012.
However, after retiring in 2016, he realized that cycling had acted as a distraction from his painful past, which reemerged with more intensity.
In a recent conversation on this week’s High Performance podcast, he confessed that the abuse left a lingering impact on his life, but he has learned to manage it over the last year.
He stated: “I’m genuinely in the best condition I’ve been in for 44 years.”
“This is mainly due to my experiences navigating through adversity and overcoming dark times for various reasons.”
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“I used to see my success as the problem, but I now realize it’s much more intricate, involving multiple facets. The past five years have been about untangling that in my mind.”
“I’ve taken control of my life, and I refuse to keep assigning blame to others.”
The Influence of My Son
When asked what ignited his newfound sense of accountability, he credited Ben, his 19-year-old son, also a cyclist, for saving him from a “very dark place” on November 20 of last year—the same day that marked the 71st birthday of Bradley’s father, who was tragically murdered in 200.
