BRADLEY WIGGINS announced his retirement from cycling, "ending a career that saw him win a British record eight Olympic medals as well as the country's first Tour de France title," according to the PA. The 36-year-old posted a statement on his Instagram page on Wednesday, "accompanying a picture of his collected race jerseys, medals and trophies." In the post, he said, "2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards, 'feet on the ground, head in the clouds' kids from Kilburn don't win Olympic Golds and Tour de Frances! They do now." Wiggins, who "conquered his sport on the road as well as in the velodrome," won his fifth Olympic Gold in Rio this year as part of the team pursuit, "adding to a tally that also includes a silver and two bronzes." His retirement message also read, "I have been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil my childhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport I fell in love with at the age of 12. I've met my idols and ridden with and alongside the best for 20 years" (PA, 12/28). In London, Jack Austin took "a look back at some of his finest moments on the bike from the track and the road."
- A year after winning gold in the Individual Pursuit at the Track Cycling World Championships, "Wiggins became an Olympian in Athens in 2004, and an Olympic champion at that."
- Four years later Wiggins "successfully defended his Olympic Individual Pursuit title in Beijing before breaking the world record in the Team Pursuit two days later to win his second Gold on the games."
- Wiggins "made history" in '12 by becoming the first ever British rider to win the Tour de France.
- Just 10 days after his triumph on the Tour, Wiggins won his first Olympic road Gold Medal, and his fourth overall.
- Wiggins "won one of cycling’s oldest events when he became the UCI Hour winner and he did so by smashing the world record by a mammoth margin" of 1.589km to take the previous 52.937km record set by ALEX DOWSETT (INDEPENDENT, 12/28).
