Ben Wiggins targets Olympic glory of his own
Cyclist Ben Wiggins, son of five-time Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley, has opened up on the good and bad of being related to a legend of the sport.The 20-year-old from Ormskirk is currently competing at the Under-23 Giro D'Italia, also known as Giro Next Gen, and has admitted the Wiggins surname carries a hefty weight of expectation."I definitely see it partly as an advantage but, trust me, there's an awful lot of things that come with it that aren't as easy," Wiggins told BBC Radio Lancashire."There's a lot of benefits that come with it that people would expect, but then there's more things that come with it that aren't as good."I'm incredibly proud of him and what he did. Sometimes, when they do team presentations before the race, I'd be brought on stage and introduced as Bradley Wiggins' son before my name is even mentioned."I'm also compared to the standards of a five-time Olympic champion and Tour de France winner. "I'm 20 years old. Maybe when I'm 35 that's fair enough, but I'm just getting started."
Wiggins began his cycling career in 2022 when he signed as a junior rider for the Fensham Howes-MAS Design team.After winning a silver medal at the 2023 Cycling World Championships in the Men's Junior Individual Time Trial, Wiggins joined United States-based Hagens Berman Jayco, managed by Axel Merckx - the son of five-time Tour de France champion Eddy Merckx.Wiggins says his and Merckx's similar stories played a big role in deciding which team to ride for."As a junior, I was second in the World Championships in Glasgow and I had the choice of many different places to go," he explained."But for me, having that figure in the team which felt the same experience as me - but on a bigger scale - that was the biggest attraction."
A rugby and football fanatic from an early age, Wiggins says he was 15 before he wanted to become a cyclist, despite his father's influence on the sport."I played rugby and football predominantly up until when Covid hit and we couldn't play team sports. At school, there was that banter around cycling. It's not fancy, it's not cool," he said.Wiggins also has his eyes on representing his country at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles but says he has a lot of work to do if he is to follow in his father's footsteps."My ambition is to be an Olympic Champion in LA," Wiggins added."There's plenty more things on the table for me to achieve but it's a dream of mine so that's definitely the mid to long-term goal, on the track or on the road."If you can do both you're a big asset for the team, so that's my ambition."
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