Ben Wiggins, the 21-year-old son of five-time Olympic champion Sir Bradley Wiggins, has signed his first professional contract with Australian team Jayco-Alula, following in his father's footsteps in the cycling world.
Early Career and Rise
Wiggins began his cycling career in 2022, signing as a junior rider for the Fensham Howes-MAS Design team. That same year, he won a European juniors point race title in Portugal and later took a general classification win at the Trophee Centre Morbihan in France in May 2023.
Announcing his deal with Jayco-Alula, Wiggins wrote on social media: "Proud day today being able to announce that I’ll be stepping up to the world tour next year with @greenedgecycling. There are to many people to thank on here for helping me along the way but however big or small it was, thank you. Only the beginning, onwards and upwards!"
Tour de France Ambition
The 21-year-old is now set to compete in the Tour de France, a race his father became the first Brit to win in 2012. Wiggins recalled a formative memory: "I remember being at the Tour de France in 2019 and I was lucky enough to be invited around the bus the morning that Matteo Trentin won the stage for the team into Gap. Ever since that day, I wanted to ride for the team. I can't wait to be a part of the races I've watched since I was a kid."
Speaking in October last year, Sir Bradley revealed his son's progress: "Before COVID, me and my son used to go to every European Liverpool away leg. My son's now following in my footsteps. He was world champion a few years ago, he's now hoping to get selected for the LA Olympics."
Family Reflections
In the nine years since retiring, Sir Bradley has faced divorce, bankruptcy, doping allegations, and cocaine addiction, something he said his children are well aware of. He reflected: "Well, that was when it started getting really bad. When you're in the belly of addiction, you don't see the hurt you're causing to people around you, and you live a very selfish existence. I was a functioning addict in many ways because you know I would go to work and the bits of work I did have I would manage to get through, but the minute the work was over, I would isolate, and it was a horrible time really. But my kids were well aware of it. I couldn't hide it from them, and they were very supportive. I found out in recent years, or since I've been in recovery, just the extent of the pain that I put them through."
