'I was insecure in many ways' - Bradley Wiggins opens up to Adam Gemili, Andrew Pozzi on life in spotlight
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Updated 09/07/2021 at 09:27 GMT
“I had a veil and fronted as a bit of a rock star and things like that. I played the guitar – that was all just a front really." Sir Bradley Wiggins speaks exclusively to Adam Gemili and Andrew Pozzi on Eurosport's Gemili & Poz podcast, discussing life on and off the bike as he struggled to come terms with his own identity.
Sir Bradley Wiggins won five Olympic gold medals
Image credit: Getty Images
Sir Bradley Wiggins is one of Britain’s most decorated sports stars of all time.
The 2012 Tour de France winner can also boast five Olympic gold medals as well as a number of other titles in both road and track cycling.
Starting aged 12, his desire and determination took him to the very top of the sport, earning him countless plaudits, awards and even a knighthood before he eventually called time on his career in 2016.
However, Wiggins has admitted he struggled throughout his years on the bike, revealing his feelings of "insecurity" and personal difficulties coming to terms with his own identity as he became a bigger star.
In a frank conversation with fellow Team GB stars Adam Gemili and Andrew Pozzi on Eurosport’s Gemili & Poz podcast, Wiggins provides a deep insight into his life as an elite athlete.
“I was insecure in many ways as an athlete really,” Wiggins admits.
“I had a veil and fronted as a bit of a rock star and things like that. I played the guitar – that was all just a front really.
“It wasn’t really me – it was just a veil that I hid behind.”
Wiggins confessed that the person he would profess to be in front of the cameras and in interviews was merely a ‘character’ that didn’t represent who he really was as a person.
“As I got famous after 2012 I almost played the character more. That’s all gone now. I feel so separated from the athlete or from the person I was when I was an athlete.
I excelled on the bike, but off the bike I was very immature and insecure. I think that stemmed from a lot of the trauma in my childhood, which I didn’t deal with until I retired. I know who I am now.
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Wiggins, who competed in five successive Olympic Games between 2000 and 2016, opened up on how hard it was to cope with the expectation both placed on him by others as well as himself, and how he had to push himself to get through it in order to perform at his best.
“You’re expected to be so mentally strong when you’re an athlete – people say – ‘oh you won the Tour de France, you must be so mentally strong’. But it doesn’t correlate to normal life.
“I think a lot of elite athletes are insecure – I was very insecure off the bike – constantly questioning myself, constantly doubting myself.
“But when I could execute a performance, I seemed to be able to have something that dialled in and was able to block out all the emotion and everything. But off it, I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
Following retirement, Wiggins also explained how much he struggled to adjust to life off the bike, but has said he plans to use his experiences to help others in a similar position.
“I think it’s a case of building more on the person away from sport, so they have the chance to build on the emotions when they are racing.
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Sir Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012
Image credit: Getty Images
“There is no welfare and middle line for the athletes – athletes go until they break.
If you don’t make selection you have to deal with that in your normal life.
“I have thoughts about how to set up a platform where there is more protection for athletes from a mental health perspective.”
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Join Team GB athletes Adam Gemili and Andrew Pozzi for an Olympic podcast like no other. We'll be joined by some very special guests and bring you all the latest updates as the Tokyo Olympics draw closer. Subscribe now to Gemili & Poz, a podcast brought to you by Eurosport.
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