Wiggo's World

The most decorated Olympic athlete in British sports history, Sir Bradley Wiggins from Eccleston is enjoying recounting tales from his eventful career

- Neill Barston

Being back amid the action covering one of cycling’s ultimate tests at this year’s Tour de France proved highly memorable for Sir Bradley Wiggins. The five-time Olympic gold medal winner was in his element across the channel, describing it as an outstanding highlight of his experience in the sport. But he admits he doesn’t miss the intensity of preparing for one of the world’s most gruelling spectacles.

‘Covering the tour made me realise how much I love it – when you’re competing it’s hard to get excited at the end of a race, so going back to it without all the pressure and watching it as a fan was great,’ he says, but adds that he won’t be tempted to get back in the racing kit.

‘Seeing some of those climbs brought back memories of just how hard it is. While people can make it look easy, it really isn’t, especially when you see guys getting taken out of the peloton, and some of crashes you witness. It can be brutal.

‘Cycling is all I have ever known, right back to my school days when I was focusing on riding rather than my lessons,’ admits the man who is the UK’s most decorated Olympic athlete. But he says that three years ago at the age of 36, it was not a difficult decision to walk away from the sport at a high point, enabling him to focus on raising a young family with his wife Catherine at their home in Eccleston.