Bradley Wiggins bravely opens up on drug addiction, horrendous abuse and bankruptcy

Bradley Wiggins bravely opens up on drug addiction, horrendous abuse and bankruptcy Newspoint | 2025-03-09T01:39:08+08:00

Sir Bradley Wiggins has courageously spoken out about the challenges he's faced since leaving professional revealing that he's now "in a good place".

The former champion and Olympic gold medallist from London 2012 was once a towering figure in British sports. However, his life spiralled out of control after he retired from cycling in 2016.

who was previously worth £13million, battled drug addiction and which left him all but homeless and forced him to sofa-surf. A contributing factor to his struggles was the sexual abuse he endured as a youngster by his coach Stan Knight. Knight, who died in 2003, is accused of abusing other young cyclists.

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"The contradiction is that the coach who abused me was my first male role model in cycling," Wiggins told the "I had grown up with an absent father, and so this man instilled a confidence in me as a bike rider. Wherever he went, he would tell everyone: 'This kid's going to be special'.

"It kind of offset what was going on behind the scenes. There were other kids at the club it was happening to as well. We were normalised to the behaviour, made to feel there was nothing wrong with it.

"You're only 13, but it leads to a really dark period. Within three years of retiring in 2016, I was a drug addict. And a lot of it was to do with this recall of my childhood."

Addressing the financial woes that plagued him after his career, he claimed he was exploited by the very people he trusted to manage his money. The 44-year-old expressed regret for not keeping a closer eye on his finances when he was at the peak of his fame.

He admitted: "I regret I never paid attention to my financial affairs when I was racing. It's one of the things that happens to athletes – you make a lot of money, and if you haven't got your eyes on it, people take advantage. I was getting ripped off left, right and centre by the people looking after me. Accountants as well."

Despite facing a debt that reportedly swelled to nearly £2million in November, Wiggins is confident that he's turning things around. He said: "I'm on the front foot now. This was something that was done to me.

"Eight months on, it has all turned around. The people who are responsible are paying a heavy price for it. Fortunately, it's all good. My life's in a good place."