Sir Bradley Wiggins reveals new career goal – to become a doctor

Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed his new career goal – to qualify as a doctor, and says that he has already begun his studies by distance learning.

Speaking to The Times, the five-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner said: “A lot of ex-athletes focus on what they won and it’s, ‘Do you know who I am and what I did?’

“But if you can reapply it to your life, it’s good grounding because it shows you can apply yourself to something else.

“My goal now in life is to be working in the clinical, medical field. I’d like to become a doctor and redefine myself.

“I haven’t ridden a bike for five years, so I’m not a cyclist,” he said – presumably a reference to racing, given his last race was the 2016 Tour of Britain, a month after he helped Team GB successfully defend the team pursuit Olympic title at Rio, with his Instagram feed showing he was still getting out and about on two wheels last year.

 

 

 

 

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Regarding his medical ambitions, he said: “I’ve toyed around with it for years. I was going to try to work in the social work area a few years ago” – in fact, he was studying for an Open University degree in the subject less than two years ago, and said at the time, “I don’t give a shit about my cycling career now.”

> Sir Bradley Wiggins studying to become social worker

“I’ve been really fascinated by psychology, not sports psychology, but the human brain and I would like to work in that field.”

When Alyson Rudd, interviewing Wiggins, pointed out that he was looking at eight years or more of study, he said: Very much so, like cycling. It’s what I was saying about the application. Anything is possible. Just do it, as Nike say.”

Inevitably, the conversation turned to Richard Freeman, who as doctor to Team Sky and British Cycling worked closely with Wiggins and who was struck off the medical register in March after a tribunal ruled that he had ordered testosterone patches in 2011 “knowing or believing” that they would were intended to be used for an athlete to enhance their performance.

During the same period, Freeman was also the recipient of the infamous Jiffy Bag couriered to France on the final day of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné, which Wiggins won, with the package containing medicine for the rider – claimed to be the decongestant Fluimucil, which is not banned, although a UK Anti-doping probe was closed in 2017 with the agency unable to establish what the actual contents were.

> UKAD says Jiffy bag investigation was “hindered” and “potentially compromised” by British Cycling

That probe followed the revelation by Russian hackers following the Rio Olympics that on three occasions – prior to the Tour de France in 2011 and 2012, and the 2013 Giro d’Italia – Wiggins had been given therapeutic use exemptions for the banned drug, triamcinolone.

“What’s happened to Dr Freeman?” Wiggins asked. I seem to be the only person who has said anything about it. It’s the same old thing, we’re no further forward than we were two years ago. We don’t know anything more. The whole thing is bizarre. We’re ten years from the bloody incident.

“At some point you have to get on with your life, because it would have dragged me down. I’d like some more answers, but are we going to get them? We’d love to know who it [the testosterone patches] were for, but are we ever going to know?

“Four or five investigations have happened, and everyone seems none the wiser.

“The whole thing is baffling and complete incompetence at the highest f*cking level, I can’t get my head round it,” he added.

UKAD has in fact charged Freeman with possession of prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods, as well as tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control, and provisionally suspended him from all sport – although as we reported earlier this week, it has put proceedings on hold pending his appeal against the tribunal’s decision to have him struck off.

> UKAD suspends Richard Freeman doping case while appeal heard