Bradley Wiggins on doping allegations: ‘Team Sky chucked me under a bus to protect someone else’

Speaking to The Times ahead of the release of his autobiography The Chain, the 2012 Tour de France winner reflected on how those years shaped him. “There was something greater going on,” he said. “They [Team Sky] chucked me under a bus.” When asked if it was to shield another person, he replied, “Yes.” Pressed further, he added: “It’ll come out.”

The former Tour champion has always maintained his innocence over the allegations that emerged after the leak of his Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) for triamcinolone during the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Tours de France. Those medical exemptions, granted for asthma and inflammation, were made public in 2016 after the Fancy Bear hack of WADA’s database, leading to years of speculation and scrutiny. Yet no rule violations were ever proven.

“There’s been something hanging over me for years,” Wiggins said. “I want closure, not revenge.” He continues to reject any claims of cheating. “I’ve never cheated. I don’t regret being open about my medical history, but I regret that it was used to destroy me.”

Wiggins, now 45, made history as Britain’s first Tour de France winner before going on to claim Olympic gold in London’s time trial just weeks later. That summer was hailed as the pinnacle of British cycling’s golden era, but for Wiggins it also marked the start of a painful decline. “The success was the easy bit,” he said. “The aftermath was harder. The pressure, the politics, the noise. It’s not what I signed up for when I started riding around Kilburn as a kid.”

In The Chain, Wiggins writes candidly about the fallout that followed, about the addiction, the trauma and the mental toll of losing the structure that had defined his life. “I lost control of everything,” he said. “I didn’t know how to live without the bike.” For him, cycling had always been both a sanctuary and a burden, a source of meaning and a mask for deeper struggles.

“When you’re a pro, everything is scheduled,” he explained. “You know when to eat, when to sleep, when to ride. The moment it stops, you’re left with nothing. The bike had been my identity, my escape, and suddenly it was gone.”

Even so, Wiggins does not dismiss what Team Sky accomplished. “It was the best environment in the world for winning bike races,” he said. “What we did together changed British cycling forever.” But the doping saga, he admits, left a lasting scar. “I gave everything to that team. I never expected to be left to take the blame. That’s what hurt most.”

These days, Wiggins is finding peace on the bike again. “I love riding again,” he said. “It’s simple. No noise, no agenda. Just freedom.” That return to routine has become part of his recovery. “I live like I’m a professional again,” he added. “Up early, gym, structured days. That discipline saved me once before, and it’s saving me again.”

He still watches the peloton closely, smiling when asked about it. “I watch the Tour every year. You can take the man out of cycling, but you can’t take cycling out of the man.” His connection to the sport now runs through his son Ben, who is carving out his own path as a professional rider. “Seeing him ride gives me pride,” Wiggins said. “He’s got the talent, but more importantly, he’s got the love for it.”

Reflecting on the highs and lows of a turbulent career, Wiggins seems determined to reclaim his story. “I made history on two wheels,” he said. “Whatever people think of me, nobody can take that away.”

As he promotes The Chain, there is a note of acceptance in his voice that was not there before. “I don’t hate myself any more,” he said. “I want to move on. I’ve been through enough. I just want to ride.”