Sir Bradley Wiggins in conversation with The Cycling Podcast

August 24 | Not long after stepping off the plane from Rio, Sir Bradley Wiggins appeared at the Rapha Cycle Club in Soho, London, for a conversation with The Cycling Podcast before an appreciative audience.

Wiggins described the relief he felt at winning his fifth Olympic gold medal, his eighth in total, as part of a team pursuit squad that set a world record on their way to beating Australia in a close and thrilling final.

Wiggins said he had no idea that it was so close, or that Owain Doull was off the back at the end, sprinting desperately to close the gap as Wiggins put in one last big effort at the front. Doull made it and the gold medal was theirs, though Wiggins admitted that he had still not watched the final and preferred not to dwell on “What ifs”, though he did discuss one talking point from Rio: the non-selection of Mark Cavendish for any of the qualifying rounds.

Joined on stage by Ultan Coyle, the Rapha designer behind the Team Wiggins kit, Wiggins also discussed the future of his team – a project that is set to consume much of his time as retirement looms. His ambition, he said, is for Team Wiggins to become the world’s best development set-up. Another aim is to establish a women’s team.

As for other future plans? “Next year I’m rowing across the Atlantic with James Cracknell,” he said – though as so often with Wiggins, it was unclear whether he was serious.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha