British Cycling have sent a safeguarding team to reach out to Bradley Wiggins and offer their ‘full support’ after the Tour de France winner said he was sexually groomed by a coach when he was just 13 years old.
Wiggins won the 2012 Tour and secured Olympic gold medals at the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Games to go down as one of the greatest athletes in British history.
British Cycling, the governing body of the sport in Britain, confirmed it had offered Wiggins support after his revelation. A spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by the matter raised by Sir Bradley Wiggins and our safeguarding team has made contact with him today to offer our full support.
“We would encourage anybody who has suffered abuse or has concerns about the welfare of others – regardless of when the incident took place – to utilise the support offered both by our trained team at British Cycling and the dedicated NSPCC Helpline, which in turn helps us to ensure that our sport is a safe and welcoming place for all.”
Wiggins spoke of the incident in an interview with Men’s Health UK, adding that he had ‘never fully accepted’ being groomed when he was 13. The 41-year-old spoke to columnist Alastair Campbell ahead of the May issue of the magazine.
When asked if he had been ‘groomed sexually’ by the coach, Wiggins replied: “Yes. It all impacted me as an adult… I buried it.” He did not name the abuser.
Wiggins added he had been unable to speak to his stepfather because of his parental abuse: “My stepfather was quite violent to me, he used to call me a faggot for wearing Lycra and stuff, so I didn’t think I could tell him.”
Wiggins, who retired in 2016, was praised by the NSPCC for his bravery in coming forward to speak about his horrible experience. Michelle North, head of the NSPCC’s child protection in sport unit, said: “It takes a lot of courage to speak out about sexual abuse and Sir Bradley Wiggins has shown real bravery in revealing how he was groomed as a young cyclist by his coach who should have been protecting him.
“Sports coaches hold a great deal of power and influence over the children in their care and can all too easily exploit this trust to groom and abuse them. It’s common for victims to feel guilt and shame or to even be unaware that they are being abused and some may not come to accept it until decades later but nonetheless the impact can be devastating and long lasting.”
