British Cycling BC
200px
Sport	Cycle racing
Formation date	1959
Affiliation	UCI
Regional affiliation	UEC
Headquarters	National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street (off the A6010 Alan Turing Way), Bradford, Manchester
President	Mr Brian Cookson OBE
Official website
www.britishcycling.org.uk

British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the national governing body for cycle racing in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. It is based at the National Cycling Centre, which is based opposite the ground of Manchester City, on the site of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It is just off the Route 60 of the National Cycle Network.

History[link]

The British Cycling Federation (BCF) was formed in 1959 at the end of an administrative dispute within the sport. The governing body since 1878 had been the National Cyclists Union (NCU).^{[n 1]} The legality of cyclists on the road had not been established and the NCU worried that all cycling could be affected by police concerns about racing.^[1] The cycling historian Bernard Thompson said: "Events organised by clubs in the 1880s, although taking place on quiet country roads, were constantly interrupted by the police. Often horse-mounted policemen charged at racers and threw sticks into their wheels."^[2] The race organiser and writer, Chas Messenger, said: "Thousands of cyclists were convicted or fined for dangerous riding, many on mere suspicion and unsupported evidence."^[1]

The NCU banned all racing on the road and insisted clubs use velodromes.^[1] A rebel organisation, eventually known as the Road Time Trials Council, began running races of individuals competing against the clock at dawn and in secrecy, to avoid police attention. The NCU eventually accepted the RTTC and the two organisations ran the sport between them, the RTTC interested only in time-trialling and the NCU administering track races and representing Britain at meetings of the UCI.

Infighting was sparked by the UCI's decision that world road championships from 1933 would be not individual contests but competitions in which riders started together. The NCU had never been against such races but insisted that in Britain they were on roads closed to traffic, such as airfields and motor-racing courses. It now had to select riders not on their talent against the clock but in a bunch. Selection races were held at Donington Park and Brooklands. Among the riders were some, like Percy Stallard, who believed races ought to be run on the open road. He organised a race from Llangollen to Wolverhampton, in 1942.^[3] The NCU suspended Stallard and others and they formed the British League of Racing Cyclists.^[4] It and the NCU fought each other until they merged in 1959.

The British Cycling Federation[link]

The merged organisation became the British Cycling Federation. It accepted racing on the open road^[4] and controlled all competitive cycling other than time-trialling, which remained with the RTTC. Cyclo-cross was administered by the British Cyclo-Cross Association, which was linked to the BCF. The BCF was recognised by the UCI. The first officials were perceived to be drawn largely from the NCU and there was bitterness among supporters of the former BLRC that they had been betrayed.^[3]

The BCF had offices in central London. The first were in the headquarters of the Sports Council in Park Crescent, near Hyde Park. They then moved to Kettering, Northamptonshire, and finally to the velodrome in Manchester.

The British Cycling Federation was renamed simply British Cycling after it merged with the British Cyclo-Cross Association, the British Mountain Bike Federation, the English BMX Association and the British Cycle Speedway Council. Each is now a commission within the BCF.

Field of influence[link]

British Cycling administers road racing, track cycling, cyclo-cross, BMX, mountain biking (including trials riding), cycle speedway, and in Scotland, road time trials. The main exception is road time trials in England and Wales, which are administered by Cycling Time Trials, the current name of the Road Time Trials Council. Only road time-trials in England and Wales remain outside British Cycling, but Cycling Time Trials works with British Cycling to organise the time-trial national championships.

BSkyB began sponsorship of British Cycling on 24 July 2008.

International dominance[link]

From 2001 to the present day, British cycling has greatly improved its standing in world track cycling and are considered the dominant force now in cycling. At the 2004 Athens Olympics cycling events, Great Britain came third in the medal table. From 2004 to 2009, it came top of the medals tally for three out of six UCI Track Cycling World Championships. The team is noted for its distinctive high performance equipment. British Cycling continues to work with NASA, McLaren Group and many other organisations to improve track speeds. The team is so secretive about its suits, it completely destroys each suit after a championships to prevent the technology being copied by other nations.^{[citation needed]} In the late 2000s, the team consisted of such notable riders as Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Bradley Wiggins, and Rebecca Romero.

This success has continued in road racing with riders such as Nicole Cooke and Mark Cavendish. British cycling has also formed a professional cycling team with BSkyB as the main sponsor and Bradley Wiggins as the team leader and David Brailsford as the manager. Team Sky is registered as a UCI ProTeam.

Downhill mountain biking also witnessed British success with Steve Peat becoming the Nissan UCI Downhill World Champion, and also becoming the most successful downhill racer ever with seventeen World Cup wins.

General[link]

Cycling clubs or teams affiliate to British Cycling to race in British Cycling events. Adult road racing licences are graded by excellence, from fourth and lowest to first and élite. There are licences for under-18s and for women.

International performances have improved since British Cycling began receiving money from the National Lottery funding in the late 1990s. It won three golds in the 2002 world track championships and four in 2005. Britain won nine of 18 gold medals at the 2008 world track championships. In September 2004, British Cycling helped organise the Tour of Britain, a five-day race finishing in London.

International affiliation[link]

British Cycling is a member of the European Cycling Union, the UCI and the British Olympic Association.

Regional bodies[link]

Nation or territory	Regional body
England	no regional governing body
Scotland	Scottish Cycling
Wales	Welsh Cycling
Isle of Man	Isle of Man Cycling Association
Gibraltar	Gibraltar Cycling Association

In Scotland and Wales, British Cycling operates with regional bodies: Scottish Cycling (Scottish Cyclists' Union) and Welsh Cycling (Welsh Cycling Union). Scotland and Wales run national teams.

There is no regional body for England. England is not recognised as a region by the UCI, and there is no English cycling team outside the Commonwealth Games. For those occasions, British Cycling selects and supports the England team. Cycling is represented on the Isle of Man by the Isle of Man Cycling Association.

Cycling in Northern Ireland is organised under Cycling Ulster, part of the all-Ireland governing body Cycling Ireland. Until 2006, a rival governing body existed, the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation. It was affiliated to British Cycling, causing friction between the British body and the international federation, the UCI.

British overseas territories[link]

British Cycling represents the cycling associations of British overseas territories in the UCI, if they are not themselves UCI members.

The Gibraltar Cycling Association is the regional governing body for Gibraltar.

Great Britain Cycling Team Olympic Programmes[link]

Olympic Podium Programme[link]

Riders in this programme are expected to be seasoned world-class performers with a track record of success at the highest level. Athletes are full-time on the programme and generally based near the team's Manchester HQ. Athletes may also be members of professional (trade) teams, receiving additional support from the programme.^[5]

Olympic Academy Programme[link]

Riders aged typically 18 to 23 and exceptional athletes with the clear potential to become world-class performers. The programme aims to add the final technical polish, whilst building up training loads to those likely to be experienced by the senior elite athletes.^[6]

Olympic Development Programme[link]

Riders aged typically 16 to 18, who are already experienced and focused on a career in professional cycling. The programme aims to add technical experience, including experience of preparing for major (junior) championships, plus conditioning. Athletes are typically still in education and focus on intense training camps, whilst still living at home. ^[7]

Olympic Talent Team[link]

A regionally based programme aimed at finding talented young riders, typically aged 14–16 and preparing them for transition to the higher programmes.^[8]

Paralympic Team[link]

Athletes competing in four disability categories, primarily in Track, Road Race and Time Trial disciplines.^[9]

British Cycling Hall of Fame[link]

On 17 December 2009, the names of fifty riders to be inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame were announced. The newly established hall of fame was created as part of British Cycling's 50th anniversary celebrations.^[10]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• British Cycling
• Everyday Cycling

Video clips[link]

• British Cycling YouTube channel
• Everyday Cycling YouTube channel

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v t e National Members of the Union Cycliste Internationale Olympic Disciplines (road bicycle racing  • Track cycling  • BMX racing) Other Disciplines (Cyclo-cross  • mountain bike racing (cross-country, downhill, four-cross, trials riding  • Indoor  • Para-cycling Track) Asia (ACC) BAN BHR BRU CHN TPE HKG IND IRI IRQ JPN JOR KAZ KGZ KOR KUW LAO LBN MAC MAS MGL MYA NEP OMA PAK PHI PRK QAT KSA SIN SRI SYR THA TKM TUN UAE UZB VIE YEM Africa (CAC} ALG ANG BDI BEN BUR CGO CIV CMR COM CPV EGY ERI ETH GAB GUI KEN LBA LES MAD MAW MLI MRI MAR NAM NGR NIG RWA SEN SEY SOM RSA SUD TOG TUN UGA ZAM ZIM America (COPACI) ATG ARG ARU BAH BAR BER BIZ BOL BRA CAN CAY CHI COL CRC CUB DOM ECU ESA GRN GLP GUA GUY HAI HON JAM MTQ MEX ANT NCA PAN PAR PER PUR SKN LCA VIN SUR TRI USA ISV URU VEN Oceania (OCC) AUS TLS FIJ GUM INA NZL Europe UEC ALB AND ARM AUT AZE BEL BIH BLR BUL CRO CYP CZE DEN EST FIN FRA GBR GEO GER GRE HUN IRL ISR ITA) LAT LIE LTU LUX MDA MKD MLT MNE MON * NED NOR POL POR ROU RUS SMR SRB SLO SUI SVK ESP SWE TUR UKR Former Members Pinnacle Events Cycling at the Summer Olympics  • UCI World Championships  • Tour de France

v t e International cycling UCI World Championships B World Championships World Cup Olympics Paralympics Commonwealth Games Asian Games All-Africa Games Pan American Games World Ranking Cyclists Teams Competitions Federations Asia ACC – UCI Asia Tour Africa CAC – UCI Africa Tour America COPACI – UCI America Tour Oceania OCC – UCI Oceania Tour Europe UEC – UCI Europe Tour World UCI – UCI World Tour

Dave Brailsford

David Brailsford
Personal information
Full name	David Brailsford
Born	(1964-02-29) 29 February 1964 (age 48) Derby, England, United Kingdom
Team information
Discipline	Road and Track
Role	Rider BC Programme Director BC Performance Director Team Sky General Manager
Infobox last updated on 19 August 2008

David (Dave) John Brailsford CBE (born 29 February 1964)^[1] is a Welsh cycling coach and is currently British Cycling's performance director, and the general manager of Team Sky.

Early life[link]

A Welsh speaker,^[2] Brailsford was born in Derby but brought up in Deiniolen, near Caernarfon in Wales,^[3] a son of an Alpine mountain guide.^[4]

Brailsford competed in France for four years as a professional cyclist before returning to the UK at 23 to study for a degree in sports science and psychology before an MBA in Sheffield Business School.

Cycling management[link]

He has been involved with cycling throughout his career, he was first employed by British Cycling as an advisor when Lottery funding began. He became programme director before becoming performance director.^[5]

Brailsford's British cycling support crew led the British team to victories at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

In 2010, Brailsford also became the manager of the new British based professional team, Team Sky.^[6]

Honours[link]

His contribution to cycling was acknowledged in being appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours list.^[5]

In November 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by University of Chester where he studied Sport and Exercise Science.^[7]

British cycling's 14 medals, including eight golds, at the 2008 Olympics won him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award on 14 December 2008.^[8] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 New Year Honours.^[9][10]

References[link]

Victoria Pendleton

Pendleton at the Mayor of London's Sky Ride in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Victoria Louise Pendleton
Born	(1980-09-24) 24 September 1980 (age 31)[1] Stotfold, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight	62 kg (140 lb; 9.8 st)[1]
Team information
Current team	Britain
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
Mildenhall Cycling Club
Professional team(s)
??–2008 2008–Present	Science in Sport / Trek Sky Track Cycling
Medal record Competitor for  Great Britain Track cycling Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Sprint World Championships Gold 2005 Los Angeles Sprint Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Team Sprint Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Sprint Gold 2007 Palma de Mallorca Keirin Gold 2008 Manchester Team Sprint Gold 2008 Manchester Sprint Gold 2009 Pruszków Sprint Gold 2010 Ballerup Sprint Gold 2012 Melbourne Sprint Silver 2006 Bordeaux Sprint Silver 2008 Manchester Keirin Silver 2009 Pruszków Team Sprint Silver 2010 Ballerup Keirin Silver 2011 Apeldoorn Team Sprint Bronze 2009 Pruszków 500 m Time Trial Bronze 2011 Apeldoorn Sprint European Championships Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Team sprint Gold 2011 Apeldoorn Keirin Silver 2010 Pruszków Team Sprint Competitor for  England Track cycling Commonwealth Games Gold 2006 Melbourne Sprint Silver 2006 Melbourne 500m Time Trial
Infobox last updated on 26 March 2011

Victoria Louise Pendleton MBE (born 24 September 1980) is a British track cyclist who specialises in the sprint disciplines. Pendleton has represented Great Britain and England in international competition, winning nine world titles including a record six in the individual sprint competition. Pendleton is the reigning Olympic and World Champion for the sprint. In addition Pendleton is a former European and Commonwealth champion. Her father, Max, was also a British national grass-track cycling champion.

Early years[link]

Pendleton rode her first race, a 400m event on the grass track at Fordham at nine. Pendleton showed her promise at 13 and was spotted three years later by the assistant national track coach, Marshal Thomas. At that time she wanted to concentrate on her education, graduating from Fearnhill School in Letchworth Garden City, and later awarded a degree in Sport and Exercise Science by Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne. She enjoyed some success on the track as a student before graduating and becoming a full-time cyclist.^[2]

Success on the track[link]

Pendleton at the 2008 Track World Championships

Pendleton won one bronze and three silver medals in the British National Track Championships in 2001, while still a student. In 2002, she qualified for the England Commonwealth Games team, finishing fourth in the sprint. She again came fourth in the sprint at the 2003 world championships in Stuttgart and the 2004 World Championships in Melbourne. She ranked 2nd overall in the World Cup for the sprint in 2004, winning the World Cup event in Manchester.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she finished sixth in the time trial and ninth in the women's 200m sprint

At the 2005 World Championships, Pendleton won her first major medal with gold in the women's sprint. She became the third British woman to become a cycling world champion in 40 years.^[3]

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, she won silver in the 500m time trial and gold in the sprint.

At the 2007 UCI Track World Championships, she won the team sprint with Shanaze Reade, the individual gold in the women's sprint, and a third gold in the women's Keirin.^[4] She crowned the year by being named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year for 2007, becoming the first cyclist to win the award in its 20-year history.^[5] Pendleton was also voted Sports Journalists' Association of Great Britain's sportswoman of the year for 2007.^[6]

During her build-up to the Olympics she won two gold medals at the 2008 UCI Track World Championships in the women's sprint, and the women's team sprint (again with Shanaze Reade); she was also second in the women's keirin. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Pendleton won the gold medal in the Women's Individual Sprint Event.

Pendleton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.^[7]

She retained her world sprint title at the 2009 UCI Track World Championships in Pruszków. Each sprint was so closely matched it required several photos, leaving Pendleton emotional but victorious over her Dutch opponent, Willy Kanis.^[8]

At the 2011 World Championships Pendleton won a silver and bronze medal in the team sprint and sprint and finished seventh in the keirin.^[9] Partnering Jess Varnish, Pendleton won the team sprint in her only event at the British Championships.^[10] At the European Championships Pendleton won the team sprint and Keirin titles, but only came eighth in the sprint.^[11][12][13]

In February 2012 Pendleton and Varnish set a new world team sprint record of 32.754 seconds, beating Kaarle McCulloch and Anna Meares of Australia at the Track World Cup in the London Olympic Velodrome.^[14] In the sprint and the keirin Pendleton came 4th and 5th respectively.^[15][16] In Pendleton's final World Championships in Melbourne she won her sixth World Sprint Championship. She fell in the first heat of the semi-final against Meares. In the second heat Meares was relegated for going outside her lane. In the decider Pendleton won in a photo finish before defeating Simona Krupeckaite, winning 2-0 with the second win coming from another relegation.^[17] Pendleton finished medalless in her other two events.^[18][19]

Personal life[link]

In July 2009, Pendleton appeared on the cover of men's magazine FHM.^[20] Pendelton is engaged to Scott Gardner, a former sports scientist with the British Cycling coaching team. ^[21]

Palmarès[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Victoria Pendleton

• Official website
• @v_pendleton on Twitter
• Profile at British Cycling

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]