Former Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins has revealed he was sexually manipulated by a trainer during his teenage years.
The five-time Olympic champion made the allegation during an interview with the magazine Men’s Health UK. He did not reveal the identity of the coach. “I was manipulated by a trainer when I was younger — I was around 13 — and I never fully accepted that,” said Wiggins, 41, who won the Tour in 2012. and who retired four years later.
Having used the English term groomed “, which designates the psychological influence of an adult on a child, the magazine asked him if this manipulation was of a sexual nature. He replied, “Yes. It all stuck with me as an adult… I buried it,” preferring not to speak at the time due to a difficult relationship with his stepfather.
Bradley Wiggins has previously spoken of his difficult childhood, during which his father, Australian cyclist Gary Wiggins, who died in 2008 following a fight at a house party, left the family behind.
He is one of the most decorated British Olympians in history. He has won three individual gold medals and two team gold medals, the last of which was at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. The cyclist has won eight medals in total.
The British Cycling Federation, British Cycling, said it was “deeply concerned about this matter” and contacted Wiggins “to offer its full support”.
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