It’s Official – Bradley Wiggins is GB’s Greatest Ever Cyclist.
Who is the greatest British Olympian is a debate that will waged furiously by sports lovers. Is it Sir Chris Hoy by virtue of his six gold medals, more than anyone else. Is it Sir Steve Redgrave for his five golds in five successice Games when he only had one chance to win per Games? Sir Ben Ainslie with his four golds and a silver in five Games deserves an honourable mention too, as does Sir Matthew Pinsent with his four golds in four Games and now Jason Kenny who made it gold medal number four on Thursday in the velodrome, and may yet jump up to six golds in the next few days. Or is it Sir Bradley Wiggins who, last night, claimed a fifth gold medal in the men’s team pursuit and an eighth Olympic medal in total, thanks to a previous silver and two bronzes as well?
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The latter certainly now should be considered to be Britain’s greatest cyclist which, in itself, is a huge call considering we have Hoy and also three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome in our ranks. Why? Simple. Apart from his eight Olympic medal haul (and one of those golds, don’t forget, was on the roads in the time trial) Wiggins was the first British rider ever to win the Tour de France, has been world road race champion as well and holds the world one hour track record.
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It is an extraordinary show of all-round cycling prowess across every possible facet, from track to road, speed to endurance, and over a 16-year-career of winning medals.
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Add to this his rather unique personality – the Modfather of the track, a huge Jam and Weller fan, his irrerverence (note the tongue and silly face last night on the podium) – and Wiggins has been huge not just for his sport, but for helping transform this country into a nation of cyclists.
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So arise Sir Bradley, you are now the greatest British cyclist ever. Maybe Kenny will surpass him if he bags two more golds in Rio and continues to Tokyo to win a couple more. And maybe Froome will if he wins two more Tour de Frances to become one of the true greats of the most prestigious cycle race of them all. But even then it may not be enough because the others have been fantastic one-trick ponies. Wiggins has done the lot!