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news
04 Bradley Wiggins at the TDF 2013 launch © Simon MacMichaelSir Bradley Wiggins in trouble over crude joke at charity dinner
Sir Bradley Wiggins’ tarnished public image took another blow last night when it emerged he had made an explicit remark at a dinner in support of charity Barnado’s.
According to the Daily Star, the Tour de France winner was approached by compere Jon Hammond as one of his cycling shirts went up for auction. Wiggins’ face appeared on the big screen at the luxury Rudding Park Hotel near Harrogate and he said: “You’ve got a posh voice. I like posh voices. S*** me off.”
Last night a spokesman for Wiggins’ management company said: “There had been some friendly banter beforehand and Bradley was caught unawares by the auctioneer. We’d like to apologise to anyone who was offended by his language.”
According to the report, Wiggins was attending the £300-a-seat Firecracker Ball fundraiser for children’s charity Barnado’s, which took place on November 9.
Guests said drink had been flowing “extremely freely” but Wiggins is said not to have been drunk.
Nevertheless, the remark did not go down well with other guests.
Business director David Parkin said: “Initially there was just stunned silence. It was bizarre and shocking.
“The chap sitting next to me said: ‘Before tonight he was my hero, but not anymore'.
“It was completely the wrong time and place to say something like that.
“People were completely disgusted by him.”
The 2013 Firecracker Ball raised £230,000 for Barnado’s, including £5,000 from the sale of Wiggins’ jersey.
Wiggins has been in the news recently as a result of revelations in David Walsh’s new book Inside Team Sky. Wiggins is alleged not to have given any of his 2012 Tour de France win bonus to Chris Froome, despite paying other team members for their help, until Sir Dave Brailsford intervened.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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53 comments
Never really got why wiggins is regarded as a national treasure by so many, he's always been a twat. This is sadly yet another example of this. Great sporting achievements, shame he's never had the personality to back it up.
Heartening to see a great British tradition hasn't died.
Build 'em up. Knock 'em down. Don't let those successful scumbags get ahead of themselves. It's what makes us great.
BUT NOT TOO GREAT. We wouldn't want to get used to it.
'highly successful sportsman says something a bit rude'.
How dare he. he should hand back the knighthood.
Yours, disgusted of Tonbridge Wells.
So can I just check...
Bradley is still OK although he made a crap/rude "joke" and didn't pay Chris Froome?
Lance is still bad?
Froome we're still a bit unsure about?
Cav? Where we at with him?
Gosh it's so difficult keeping up with all this...
Not exactly the crime of the century but he has always been a plonker.
Just because he is a top class sportsman doesn't mean he he can't be a classless twat.
That's the problem with these sports personalities, their personality actually comes out in the wrong light now and then. Leave the man alone, he's human. I think.
As Colin says, it was a comment on the ever changing opinions of the media and forum contributors according to the moral zeitgeist of the day.
Sorry if my attempt at humour was too complex for you Welshy...
Why did this take so long to get released by a red top?
Given that it was almost a month ago, and "business man" David Parkin - who is also a journalist - put this in to the public domain back on the 15th November you really have to ask why it is hitting the front page now, the same week as David Walsh's hatchet job.
Why do The Star feel the need to put the boot in? They aren't connected (as far as I am aware) with News Corp, so it seems to rule out any connection with trying to lever Wiggins out of the Sky camp. It's very strange and reeks of someone doing someone a favour by throwing muck about, but for who and why?
There are discrepancies and unanswered questions all over the shop with this one.
Crazy-legs, what is the point of your post? Is it an attempt at humour? Wiggins is crude and tactless, not a crime in itself. Lance is a liar and cheat, both crimes. Froom is a Tour de France winner and Cav is the best, or one of the best, sprinter in the world, neither rider having committed a crime as far as I am aware and both all round good chaps. What is so difficult for your little brain to keep up with? Any other subjects you find difficult I can help you with?
I would think he is pointing out how unimportant all of this, but that the media like to stir it up.
Welsh boy, crazy-legs's post was pretty funny. It points out how seriously some people take not-particularly-serious things, gently mocking the silliness of the whole thing. Colin Peyresourde also summed it up well. I think you may fall into the 'taking things too seriously' camp yourself.
Over & out
Bradley Wiggins: Enjoying the adulation of fat, Team Sky clad, 12mph chuggers the land over regardless of what he does. He is now officially the UK's own Lance Armstrong; defended to the death no matter how much of a c*nt he is.
ajmarshal1 - excuse me?! Care to explain that one, being arguably GBs best ever cyclist (though I might give that to Cav personally) I can't see why he wouldn't command some respect from cycling fans. Personally, I can't imagine why you think he's a "c*nt", to me he is a brilliant athlete (his riding style alone making him far better than most to watch) and the fact he sometimes makes some rude jokes or gives the press the finger just makes him more interesting. Better than the pre-written dull statements that characterises most sportsmen these days (though hardly their fault, why would you raise your head above the parapet by saying something unusual).
Asking someone to suck you off at a fund raiser for a children's charity isn't "more interesting", it's just crass.
Don't see the problem, at least he didn't say c*nt!
Don't see the problem, at least he didn't say c*nt!
Oh, and can you imagine Sir Chris Hoy getting into the same kind of 'trouble' as BW (or chewing gum with his mouth open like his revolting countryman)? Proper class.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/aug/24/olympics2008.chrishoy
Chris Hoy said 'arse'. Bring on the unwarranted abuse. Or is it only Wiggins you have a problem with?
Looks like he's been to the Alex Ferguson school of 'How to behave like a knight of the realm.' No class.
Top bloke. Hilarious interaction entertains crowd.
seem 90% of road.cc readers want to suck bradley off. Only half of the story is reported here. News agencies are reporting this was a diner for victims of child abuse and that Bradley's 'representatives' have apologised. WTF??! If all that is true and you think this was cool and funny your as much of a nob as him.
Talented but I think many of the top British cyclists are sooo up there own arse it's actually believable.
Love Bradley's talent but not his sports personality of the year.
Down with this sort of thing!
Careful now.
Sorry, but unless the room was full of young kids.....grow up complainers, ever heard an after dinner speaker?
He was there to raise money....job done.
He can come to our club dinner with a signed yellow jersey anytime, we'll even give him a couple of free tickets, our charity is the local hospice.
I'm a bit middle class so maybe he'll ask me for a w*nk
Careful old chap !
He might ask you for a w..k.....using the cheeks of your arse.
At first I thought it was a pretty distasteful misogynistic comment to a female compare, but seems like it was an odd joke that isn't offensive to me (or funny). Although probably not the best thing to say when a guest at a charity auction.
Oh, how I can't wait for the racing to start again and I can visit this site to read about that instead! Anyone fancy Horner for the Tour de France?
Hahahahaah
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