This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since December 2010. Its lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. Tagged since December 2010. It may contain original research. Tagged since September 2007.

A celebrity culture is the structure that influences those deemed to be celebrities.

Brief history of celebrity culture[link]

Any medium can be viewed as a vehicle for creating a celebrity culture. The famous religious books of the world's faiths are replete with examples of individuals who are well known by the general public. Some of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt set in motion devices to ensure their own fame for centuries to come. Celebrity culture, once restricted to royalty and biblical/mythical figures, has pervaded many sectors of society including business, publishing, and even academia (the scilebrities). With every scientific advance names have become attached to discoveries. Especially for large contributions to humanity, the contributor is usually regarded honourably. Mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity. A trend has developed that celebrity carries with it increasingly more social capital than in earlier times. Each nation or cultural community (linguistic, ethnic, religious) has its own independent celebrity system, but this is becoming less the case due to globalization. (see j-pop)

Modern celebrity culture[link]

Celebrity status is widely sought after by many people. Celebrities are often displeased by their status. Paparazzi are a problem for celebrities. Another problem is celebrity marriage. There is research^{[clarification needed]} that suggests child celebrities have poor emotional health in adulthood, and often turn to drug abuse. Celebrity status is ranked by a "A-list" or "B-list" hierarchy. Sometimes people who achieved celebrity status come to regret it, e.g. Bart Spring in 't Veld, who came to loathe the reality TV celebrity culture which Big Brother, of which he was the first winner in the world, instigated.

Vehicles of celebrity culture[link]

In the USA, celebrity culture is created and disseminated by television talk shows such as Entertainment Tonight, where actors and music stars promote their latest films and albums, and by many celebrity magazines such as People, Us, and Star.

Tantrums[link]

In the celebrity culture of the 21st century, the "Tantrumical" may come to full flower in the form of 'the celebrity tantrum. Many celebrity icons, regardless of their chronological age, are renowned for appearing incredibly immature and throwing temper tantrums whenever they don't get their own way'.^[1] Dan Millman 'coined the term Acquired Situational Narcissism to describe the destructive and outrageous behaviour of those who are constantly in the public eye. This late-acquired narcissism...'^[2] - tantrum-y.

Complaints[link]

A common complaint of modern celebrity culture is that the public, instead of seeking virtues or talents in celebrities, seek those who are the most willing to break ethical boundaries, or those who are most aggressive in self-promotion. In other words, infamy has replaced fame. The social role of the town drunk, the court jester, or the sexually indecent are not new, but arguably, the glorification of these individuals is.

Explanations[link]

One possible explanation of this trend is that an artificial importance has been created in order to promote a product or a service, rather than to record a purely biographical event. As more new products are launched in a world market that is constantly expanding, the need for more celebrities has become an [industry] in itself.

Another explanation, used by Chuck Palahniuk, is that this exaggeration of modern celebrity culture is created out of a need for drama and spectacle. In the book Haunted, he describes the pattern of creating a celebrity as a god-like figure, and once this image is created, the desire to destroy it and shame the individual in the most extreme ways possible. Tabloid magazines are the prototype example of this theory.

Posthumous fame[link]

Some creators such as poets, artists, musicians, and inventors are little-known and little-appreciated during their lives, but are feted as brilliant innovators after their deaths. In some cases, after historians uncover a creator's role in the development of some type of cultural or technical process, the contributions of these little-known individuals become more widely known. A desire to achieve this type of posthumous fame may have motivated Alan Abel, Adam Rich and Pauly Shore to stage their own deaths.

Sometimes a false death mention can cause a person to rethink their legacy. Alfred Nobel founded the Nobel Prizes after an erroneous obituary labelled him a "merchant of death" due to his invention and selling of dynamite.

Celebrities who were far more famous after their deaths than during their lifetime (and often were completely or relatively unknown) include Greek philosopher Socrates; scientist Galileo Galilei; 1800s-era poet John Keats; painter Vincent van Gogh; poet and novelist Edgar Allan Poe; singer Eva Cassidy; writer Emily Dickinson; artist Edith Holden, whose 1906 diary was a best-seller when published posthumously in 1977); writer Franz Kafka; diarist Anne Frank; philosopher Soren Kierkegaard; writer John Kennedy Toole (who posthumously won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 12 years after his death); author Stieg Larsson (who died with his Millennium novels unpublished) and William Webb Ellis, the alleged inventor of Rugby football.

Herostratus, a young Greek man arsoned the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) in 356 BC in order to immortalize his name. Although authorities at the time tried to expunge him from history and punished people with the death penalty for even merely mentioning his name, he succeeded in achieving lasting fame, as his name is well known to this day.

See also[link]

References[link]

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (January 2011)

Simon Amstell
Simon Amstell at One Big Laugh, Bloomsbury Theatre, 2006.
Born	Simon Marc Amstell (1979-11-29) 29 November 1979 (age 32)[1] Gants Hill, London, England
Occupation	Stand-up comedian Television presenter Script writer, actor
Years active	1993–present
Website
simonamstell.co.uk

Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979 in Gants Hill, London) is a BAFTA-nominated,^[2] award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.

Early life[link]

Amstell was born in east London in 1979 and was raised in Gants Hill, London, in a Jewish family. He was educated at Beal High School, a state comprehensive school in Ilford, London. When he appeared on Family Catchphrase, his aunt Kim mentioned that he was the eldest of four siblings.

Life and career[link]

Amstell's first television appearance was in 1993 when he appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show GamesMaster.^[3][4][5] He also appeared on Good Morning with Anne and Nick performing an impression of Dame Edna Everage,^[6]. In 1994, he appeared in an episode of Family Catchphrase, describing himself as a budding magician and showing one of his tricks to the show's presenter Andrew O'Connor, himself a magician.^[7][8][9] Amstell and his family won a television and a video recorder.

Amstell started performing on the comedy circuit when he was in his early teens and later became the youngest finalist to appear in the BBC New Comedy Awards. His first professional television appearance was in 1998 as a presenter on the UK children's channel Nickelodeon. He claims he was sacked for being "sarcastic and mean to children"^[10] although the potted biography on his website also, in jest, claims:

"He started his TV career at Nickoledeon where he was fired for making pop stars uncomfortable. He then began presenting the Channel 4 show, Popworld – where he gained a huge following for his groundbreaking work in making pop stars uncomfortable."^[11]

His sexual orientation (openly gay) and Jewish-influenced upbringing occasionally figure in his work.^[12][13][14]

[edit] Popworld

From 2000 to 2006, Amstell presented Popworld on Channel 4 with Miquita Oliver. He voiced the characters "Timothy the Popworld melon" and "Richard the Popworld horse" and developed a highly ironic, surreal and left-field style which gained the show a cult following but angered many of its guests. One example was a mock interview with singer Lemar called "Lemar From Afar" in which Amstell shouted questions into a megaphone from one end of the world's largest car park while Lemar stood at the other end. Another was a "Si-chiatrist" interview with Luke Pritchard and Hugh Harris of The Kooks in which Amstell played the role of psychiatrist and Pritchard and Harris his patients. During his time presenting Popworld, Amstell was at the centre of several controversies, including making Britney Spears cry after asking her if she thought she'd "gone a bit nuts".^[15]

[edit] Never Mind the Buzzcocks

Amstell first appeared on the comedy pop quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks as a guest during Mark Lamarr's tenure as host, in 2003 and 2005. Following Lamarr's departure, he was one of the series' guest hosts before being appointed as permanent host beginning in October 2006. He said at the time that he hoped to beat "the universal, exceptionless rule that when a new host takes over an old show it is a horrible, embarrassing disaster".^[16]

In June 2007, Amstell and long-term collaborator Dan Swimer wrote Imagine... A Mildly Amusing Panel Show, a spoof version of Alan Yentob's arts programme Imagine. Yentob and Amstell play themselves in a mock interview between what a number of commentators described as "overtly sexual"^{[citation needed]} clips taken from Amstell's Never Mind the Buzzcocks episodes. It was followed in February 2008 by Never Mind the Buzzcocks: A Moving Tribute, which jokingly implied that Amstell had either died or retired from the show.

On 25 April 2009, Amstell announced via his internet mailing list that he would not be hosting another series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks because of his desire to instead concentrate on his live tours and stand-up performances.^[17]

Amstell won several awards for his work on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In March 2007, he won the 2006 Royal Television Society Award for Best Entertainment Performance.^[18] In December 2007, he won two British Comedy Awards for Best Comedy Entertainment Personality and Best Comedy Entertainment Series for Never Mind the Buzzcocks. In addition, Never Mind the Buzzcocks won the Best Entertainment Programme^[19] award at the Broadcast Awards 2008. Amstell's era was the reason why Never Mind the Buzzcocks was chosen as the 36th-best TV show of the decade by The Times.^[20]

Writing and acting[link]

Amstell co-wrote an episode of Channel 4 teen drama Skins in 2007, entitled "Maxxie and Anwar".

In 2009, BBC2 commissioned a six-part series entitled Grandma's House from Tiger Aspect Productions, written by and starring Amstell, co-written by Dan Swimer. The show was commissioned after the airing of a pilot earlier the same year. Filming started in February 2010^[21] and broadcasting began in August 2010.

In 2011, Amstell appeared in the independent film Black Pond.^[22]

In April 2012, the second series of Grandma's House began airing.

Stand-up[link]

Amstell also performs as a stand-up comedian. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. He has also appeared at the Carling Festivals in the Cabaret and Comedy Tent for the last two years. In 2008, Amstell completed his first UK tour. He appeared at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal in July 2009. His entire run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2009 at the Bongo Club sold out. He took part in his second national tour in the autumn of 2009.^[23]

Amstell performed Do Nothing in 2009 at the Royal Court Theatre, raising money for their young writers programme.

In May 2010, Amstell recorded Do Nothing in Dublin's Vicar Street venue for a November DVD release. In December 2011 and April 2012, it was shown on BBC3 and the BBC iPlayer.^[24]

In April 2012, Amstell will be performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. From May to June 2012, he will be touring the UK. Amstell is calling the tour Numb.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Simon Amstell

• Official website
• Simon Amstell at the Internet Movie Database
• Simon Amstell at KBJ Management
• Simon Amstell on Chortle

Bradley Wiggins

Bradley Wiggins in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Bradley Marc Wiggins
Nickname	Wiggo
Born	(1980-04-28) 28 April 1980 (age 32) Ghent, Belgium
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight	69 kg (150 lb; 10.9 st)
Team information
Current team	Team Sky
Discipline	Road & Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	GC Contender (Road) and Pursuitist (Track)
Professional team(s)
2001 2002–2003 2004–2005 2006–2007 2008 2009 2010–	Linda McCartney Racing Team Française des Jeux Crédit Agricole Cofidis Team High Road Garmin-Slipstream Team Sky
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 1 Individual Stage Stage Races Critérium du Dauphiné (2011) Paris–Nice (2012) Tour de Romandie (2012) Single-Day Races and Classics National Road Race Champion (2011) National Time Trial Champion (2009, 2010)
Medal record Competitor for  Great Britain Road bicycle racing World Championships Silver 2011 Copenhagen Time trial Track cycling Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Team pursuit Gold 2008 Beijing Individual pursuit Gold 2004 Athens Individual pursuit Silver 2004 Athens Team pursuit Bronze 2004 Athens Madison Bronze 2000 Sydney Team pursuit World Championships Gold 2003 Stuttgart Individual pursuit Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Individual pursuit Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Individual pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Team pursuit Gold 2008 Manchester Madison Silver 2000 Manchester Team pursuit Silver 2001 Antwerp Team pursuit Silver 2003 Stuttgart Team pursuit Bronze 2002 Ballerup Team pursuit Competitor for  England Commonwealth Games Silver 2002 Manchester 4km Individual pursuit Silver 2002 Manchester Team pursuit Silver 1998 Kuala Lumpur Team pursuit
Infobox last updated on 29 April 2012

Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British professional track and road bicycle racer, currently riding for Team Sky. Wiggins' career began on the track, where he specialised in the pursuit and madison disciplines.

He won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, three further medals at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics, and two golds at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. In road cycling he turned professional in 2002, but his involvement was limited by his track cycling until 2007.

After the 2008 Olympics Wiggins took a break from the track to focus on the road. Initially viewed as a time-trial specialist and a rouleur, Wiggins showed his ability in stage races when he came in fourth at the 2009 Tour de France, the joint highest placed finish by a British rider in Tour history. In 2010 he was hired as the leader for the new Team Sky, and later that year was inducted in to the London Youth Games Hall of Fame. To date his biggest wins have been the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné – the first British rider to win the race since 1990 – and the 2012 Paris–Nice, the first British winner of the race in 45 years. Wiggins finished 3rd in the 2011 Vuelta a España, becoming one of three British riders to make the podium in a Grand Tour. Ten days later, Wiggins won the silver medal in the Time Trial at the World Road Cycling Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that helped Mark Cavendish win the 2011 UCI World Road Race Championship.

Early years and family life[link]

The son of a professional cyclist, Gary Wiggins, Bradley Wiggins was born in Ghent, Belgium and spent his childhood in London with his mother Linda, stepfather Brendon and younger brother, Ryan. He started racing at south London's Herne Hill Velodrome aged 12, and represented Camden in the London Youth Games as a youngster. In 2010 he was inducted in to the London Youth Games Hall of Fame.^{[2] [3]} He lives in Eccleston, Lancashire. He married his wife Catherine in Manchester in November 2004 and has two children, Ben and Isabella.^[4] Wiggins is a well-known mod,^[5][6] and owns a collection of classic scooters and guitars from the 1960s and 1970s.^[7] In April 2012 it was announced Wiggins would collaborate with Fred Perry "to develop an authentic, non technical range of off cycle wear".^[8]

Career[link]

Wiggins at the 2008 Tour of Britain

At 20, Wiggins won a bronze medal for Britain in the team pursuit at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

In 2001 he signed for the British professional road Linda McCartney Racing Team before it disbanded in early 2001.^[9] He joined Française des Jeux in 2002, before moving to Crédit Agricole in 2004.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Wiggins became the first British athlete in 40 years to win three medals at one Games, the last being Mary Rand at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He won the gold in the pursuit, silver in the team pursuit, and bronze in the madison with his race partner Rob Hayles. Wiggins was appointed OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours for services to sport.^[9]

In 2005, Wiggins rode Giro d'Italia for Crédit Agricole. He moved to Cofidis in 2006, and rode that year's Tour de France. He returned to the track for the Manchester round of the UCI World Cup and the world championships in 2007, winning the individual and team pursuit. He followed on the road by winning the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.

He raced for Cofidis in the 2007 Tour de France and finished fourth in the prologue in London. He won the combativity award on stage six for a long solo breakaway. Cofidis withdrew after Cristian Moreni failed a doping test.^[10]

2008[link]

In 2008 he signed with Team High Road, a team later known as HTC-Highroad. At the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester, he won three gold medals: pursuit, team pursuit and madison.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he again won the pursuit, the first rider to successfully defend a pursuit title at the Olympics. On 17 August, he was a member of the Olympic pursuit team which broke the world record in the heats with 3:55:202, beating Russia to the ride-off for silver and gold.^[11] The following day, the team won the gold with a world record of 3:53:314, beating Denmark by 6.7s.^[12] Wiggins paired up with Mark Cavendish in the madison and finished ninth.^[13]

In October 2008 he published his autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory^[14] and joined the Garmin-Slipstream team for the 2009 season.^[15]

On 14 December 2008 Wiggins came ninth in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award with 5,633 votes.^[16] On 31 December Wiggins was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.^[17]

2009[link]

Bradley Wiggins at the 2009 Tour de France

After finishing the 2009 Giro d'Italia 71st, which included second place in the final stage, Wiggins arrived at the 2009 Tour de France having lost six kilos.^[18][19] He came third in the opening time-trial in Monaco and helped Garmin to second place in the team time-trial despite losing four riders. In the first mountain finish, Wiggins finished 12th, and at 5th place overall entering the second week, had the highest second-week place by a British rider since Robert Millar. On the second mountain finish, in Verbier, Wiggins finished fifth to climb to third overall. He was attacked by the Schleck brothers on stage 17 and dropped to sixth, but moved to fourth in the stage 18 time-trial. On stage 20 to Mont Ventoux, Wiggins finished tenth and held fourth by three seconds ahead of Frank Schleck. He held that position in the final stage, equalling Robert Millar's highest ever finish by a British rider in the Tour.^[20]

Wiggins won the British National Time Trial Championships in September 2009.^[21]

In October 2009, he won the Herald Sun Tour after helping team-mates most of the race. He led after winning the stage five time-trial in Geelong by 14 seconds over team-mate Svein Tuft.

Wiggins had been contracted to ride for Garmin Slipstream in 2010, but following much speculation it was announced in December 2009 that he was to leave to join Team Sky, having signed a four year contract with the new British based team.^[22]

2010[link]

Wiggins in the opening time trial of the 2010 Giro d'Italia

Wiggins began 2010 as a team leader for the first time. He was part of the team who won the team time trial on stage one of the 2010 Tour of Qatar. On May 10, he took his first major win of the year, in the opening time trial^[23] of the Giro d'Italia and took the maglia rosa leader's jersey. It was his first win at a Grand Tour. He lost the jersey on stage 2 to Cadel Evans following a crash-marred stage.^[24] He lost further time early on in the Giro, but recovered much of it on stage 11, in which he finished fourth. He faded quickly towards the end of the race, however, losing a lot of time over the final stages to finish 40th.

Wiggins entered the 2010 Tour de France with high expectations following his 4th place the year before. His Tour got off to a disappointing start however, when he could only manage 77th place in the opening prologue, after an early starting position left him exposed to poor conditions.^[25] Wiggins finished 8th on Stage 3, as cobblestones caught out a number of favourites.^[26] However, in Stage 8 (the first mountain summit finish of the Tour), Wiggins could only manage 19th place, losing 1 minute 45 seconds to stage winner Andy Schleck.^[27] Wiggins lost even more time the next day, on Stage 9, where he came 30th (losing 4 minutes 55 to the main contenders),^[28] which effectively ended hopes of a top 10 finish. He finished the Tour in 24th place, 39 minutes 24 seconds behind winner Alberto Contador, and 7 places behind team-mate Thomas Löfkvist. Contador was later found guilty of doping and the title of 2010 Tour De France winner was passed to second placed Andy Schleck. ^[29]

Wiggins retained the British national time trial title at the National Championships.^[30]

2011[link]

Wiggins was again team leader of Sky entering 2011. He opted against entering the 2011 Giro d'Italia, concentrating instead on shorter events and the classics, before undertaking altitude training to improve his climbing for the Tour de France.^[31] Wiggins finished 3rd overall in Paris-Nice after finishing 2nd in Stage 6.^[32] In March, he finished 2nd on the TT Stage 3 of the Critérium International. Wiggins won the ITT Stage 4 of Bayern-Rundfahrt, and finished the event in 14th place overall (and helping team-mate Geraint Thomas to win the event),^[33] before heading off for altitude training in preparation for the Tour de France. He took the overall lead of the Critérium du Dauphiné after finishing 2nd on the ITT Stage 3.^[34] On the final three mountain stages Wiggins was able to maintain his lead over second placed Cadel Evans (who would go on to win the Tour de France) to win Dauphiné, his biggest victory in road racing.^[35] On 26 June, Wiggins won the British National Road Race Championships,^[36] his final race before the Tour de France. On 8 July, he crashed out of the 2011 Tour de France on stage 7 with a broken collarbone.^[37]

Wiggins took his biggest road racing victory to date at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné

Following recovery from his injuries, it was confirmed by Team Sky that Wiggins would ride Vuelta a España for the first time,^[38] as well as the World Time Trial Championships. Wiggins also confirmed he would ride the 2012 Tour de France, despite the London Olympics coming soon after, and the Vuelta/ Time Trial Championships was seen as a dress-rehearsal for 2012.^[39]

Wiggins had a difficult start to the Vuelta as Sky finished 42 seconds back on the opening Team Time Trial in Benidorm.^[40] However, a strong first week brought Wiggins back into contention, leaving him 19th overall after Stage 8.^[41] On Stage 9, Wiggins and teammate Chris Froome attacked on the final climb to finish 4th and 5th respectively, and taking time out of Joaquim Rodríguez, Michele Scarponi and other contenders.^[42] The stage moved both riders up in the standings, and Wiggins was expected to take the overall lead on the time trial the following day. However, Froome sprung a major surprise, finishing second on the stage, taking the red jersey for himself, whilst Wiggins rose to third overall.^[43] Wiggins took the leaders jersey, after the rest day. After losing a few seconds to Vincenzo Nibali on the following days, Stage 14 saw Wiggins and Froome taking time out of most of their rivals, with Nibali losing over a minute.^[44] Wiggins lost the lead of the Vuelta to Juan José Cobo on Stage 15, where he finished 5th on the climb up the Angliru.^[45] The Stage saw Wiggins drop to 3rd in the standings, with Froome ahead in second. Wiggins finished the Vuelta in 3rd overall, his first grand tour podium.^[46]

In September, Wiggins finished second behind Tony Martin in the UCI Road World Championship Time Trial to take the silver medal.^[47] Four days later, Wiggins was part of the Great Britain team that set up Mark Cavendish's victory in the Road Race.^[48]

2012[link]

Although 2012 is an Olympic year, Wiggins' focus remains on road racing. The individual pursuit is no longer an Olympic event, and in December 2011 coach Rod Ellingworth told The Guardian, "The chances of him doing the team pursuit are really slim now". ^[49] Wiggins is more likely to compete in the Olympic Road Race and Time Trial. Wiggins began his 2012 season with third place in the Volta ao Algarve, including victory in the race-concluding individual time trial, edging out world champion Tony Martin by less than a second.^[50] Wiggins also helped with team-mate Richie Porte's successful bid to win the race overall. In March, Wiggins finished second to Vacansoleil-DCM's Gustav Larsson in the opening time trial of Paris–Nice, despite setting his time in wet conditions. The following day he took the lead of the race after being part of a 30-man breakaway as the peloton split into echelons. He held the lead for the rest of the race, winning the final stage, a time-trial on the Col d'Èze,^[51] despite a strong challenge from Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra, of the Vacansoleil-DCM team. Starting the final 9.6 km (6.0 mi) stage with a 6-second lead, Wiggins beat Westra's time by two seconds, to win the race by eight seconds overall, becoming the first British rider to win the race since Tom Simpson in 1967.^[52] His final stage victory was also good enough to give him the points classification ahead of Alejandro Valverde.^[53]

On Stage 1 of the Tour de Romandie in April, Wiggins took a rare sprint victory from a group of 59 riders to take the race lead.^[54] He lost the jersey to Luis León Sánchez after the Spaniard won two consecutive stages.^[55] However, Wiggins won the final time trial, despite suffering a dropped chain, to take overall victory.^[56] He is the first British rider to win the event.

Palmarès[link]

Olympic Games[link]

World Championships[link]

Commonwealth Games[link]

2002 Commonwealth Games

Silver, 4km individual pursuit

Silver, team pursuit

1998 Commonwealth Games

Silver, team pursuit

Professional cycling – major achievements[link]

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline[link]

Grand Tour	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Giro	123	-	-	134	71	40	-
Tour	-	124	WD	-	4	24	WD
Vuelta	-	-	-	-	-	-	3

WD = withdrew

World records[link]

• 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:55:202, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008
• 4000m Team Pursuit, 3:53:314, (as part of Great British team), Beijing China, 2008

Other achievements[link]

• London Youth Games

• Hall of Fame member (Class of 2010)^[57]

Quotes[link]

• "Most people were too drunk to notice me." On his experiences of late-night practice runs for the London leg of the Tour de France.^[58]

• "It is nice to be recognised for actually achieving something in life as opposed to spending seven weeks in a house on TV with a load of other muppets." A reference to the television programme, Big Brother, after finishing fourth in the Tour de France prologue.^[59]

• "I think that when you sit back and look at the season and see what has happened, I think you reflect on it with a bit of happiness, but when you finish third, you haven't won and we live for winning unfortunately." On finishing third in the 2011 Vuelta a España.^[60]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bradley Wiggins

• @bradwiggins on Twitter
• MTC management profile
• Cycling Weekly – Rider Profile

Jovan Belcher

At a game in Denver in November, 2010.
No. 59     Kansas City Chiefs
Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-07-24) July 24, 1987 (age 24)
Place of birth: West Babylon, New York
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College: Maine
Undrafted in 2009
Debuted in 2009 for the Kansas City Chiefs
Career history
Kansas City Chiefs (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
CAA Defensive Player of the Year (2008) Consensus (AFCA, AP, TSN) All-American First-Team (2008) AP All-America Second-Team (2007) All-CAA First-Team (2007)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Tackles 219 Sacks 1.0 Interceptions 0 Stats at NFL.com

Jovan Allen Belcher (born July 24, 1987) is an American football linebacker with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He played collegiately with the Maine Black Bears. He played defensive end during his junior and senior years, after switching to the position from outside linebacker where he played as sophomore and freshman.

Early years[link]

Belcher grew up on Long Island, New York and graduated from West Babylon High School in West Babylon, New York,^[1] where he played linebacker, offensive tackle, nose guard and fullback and led his prep team to its first undefeated regular season as a senior. He also was a three-time All-America selection as a prep wrestler at West Babylon.

College career[link]

Belcher was named to the second team pre-season All American team for the Football Championship Subdivision football prior to the 2008 season.^[2] Following the 2008 season, Belcher was named first team All American in the Football Championship Subdivision. During the 2008 season, Belcher led the Colonial Athletic Association with 17.5 tackles for loss. He also had 7.5 sacks. He is the fourth multiple time All-American in Maine Black Bears history, following John Huard, Aaron Dashiell and Stephen Cooper.^[3]

Professional career[link]

2009 NFL Draft[link]

Prior to the 2009 NFL Draft, Belcher was considered one of the best “small-school prospects” in the draft and was projected to move back to outside linebacker in the NFL.^[4] He was projected a sixth round draft pick.^[5]