Sir Bradley broke his recent media silence last night, telling reporters at the Ghent Six Day that “nothing was going to piss on my parade” at his final race.
Wiggins was born in the Belgian city and – although he has floated the idea of racing the London Six Day next year – still currently seems set to retire at the end of the week.
Controversy has surrounded him in recent months – hence the low profile – and he wasn’t in any mood to answer questions about TUEs. Instead, he restricted his comments to his feelings about drawing his career to a close.
The Telegraph reports that Wiggins won the first Madison of the week with his partner Mark Cavendish, and said afterwards: "I have trained hard for this, I have trained well for this and I have just been looking forward to it. Nothing was going to p*** on my parade."
Cavendish: "I'll try my best" to give Wiggins a winning send-off
Of racing in Ghent, he said: “It feels like a second home really. I always say that when I go to London but that never really does. But when I come here, you know, like yesterday I went to see some old friends who we knew when I was a baby, back when my dad was racing here.
“Everyone remembers, you know… 'Oh, I remember when you were a baby and you shit your arse and we had to change your nappy.’ And I’m like 'Oh, cheers for that. I’m 37 now.”
Wiggins clearly has an eye on the future, because he’s actually only 36.
Asked whether he would be emotional, he said: “I’m sure I will. Especially when my kids come. Because I always think of my father. I was sat in the cabins [at the venue] with my dad when I was one and I’ve got pictures of that. And because I have my own kids now… it will be really nice.”
However, he still doesn’t seem 100 per cent certain that this will be the end. Asked whether it really was his last race, he replied: "Ask me on Sunday."
I've posted before about being 69, lifelong cyclist as my main transport, much of it in, through, under, over London and how it's bicycles that...
I hope you're all checking your insurance policies, helmets, test certificates and road tax, it's the 2024 round-up...
200 people out of a close by population of how many? Just build it and stop being a wuss
To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
I love how wannabe racer reviewers talk about fork flex under braking like their tyres are made of glue. I find traction gives long before fork flex.
They don't make them like they used to
Thanks for using my picture of chocolate in your opening picture. The original can be found here, chocolate! | LongitudeLatitude | Flickr.
Fair comments. I'll put my hands up and say I got the wrong end of the stick with this one. ¡Feliz navidad! Here's a pic for the season of goodwill.