Bradley Wiggins has said he was groomed by a coach with he was aged 13 years and has also spoken about having a violent stepfather, explaining he was desperate to get out of the environment he grew up in.
His said his biological father - Australian track cyclist Gary Wiggins - was his "hero" and somebody he wanted to please with his results. However, he was also an alcoholic and somebody he did not connect with until he was aged 18 years. While he developed a relationship with him, he had not been close to him for the couple of years before he was murdered in Australia.
Wiggins said in an interview with Men's Health that when the grooming he fell victim to as a child had impacted him into adulthood and was something he tried to suppress.
Advertisement
Related News
“I was groomed by a coach when I was younger – I was about 13 – and I never fully accepted that... It all impacted me as an adult… I buried it," he said.
“My stepfather was quite violent to me, he used to call me a faggot for wearing Lycra and stuff, so I didn’t think I could tell him. I was such a loner… I just wanted to get out of the environment. I became so insular. I was quite a strange teenager in many ways and I think the drive on the bike stemmed from adversity.”
The 41-year-old, who became the first British ride to win the Tour de France in 2012 and won the Olympic TT title in his native London days later, said he suffered from depression, which he needed to monitor.
“I have to have routine. Training every day, it’s important. Not drinking too much… With my depression, if I’m not looking after myself it manifests more like a mania. I always thought of depression as taking you to a dark room in a stoop. I try to be funnier and end up being shocking and contentious.”
