Sir Bradley Wiggins calls cycling drugs cheat Lance Armstrong an 'inspiration'
Lance Armstrong became a disgraced figure in cycling after admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his famous Tour de France victories
Sir Bradley Wiggins has hailed disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong as an 'inspiration' for helping him battle his cocaine addiction. Wiggins, who won five Olympic gold medals for Team GB, recently revealed how he became a drug addict in the years following his retirement in 2016.
The 45-year-old was declared bankrupt in June 2024, exacerbating his post-career struggles. But Wiggins says that Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for using performance-enhancing drugs, was key to his recovery and he's now 'indebted' to him.
"He's been a great strength to me and a great inspiration to me, and it's on a human level," Wiggins told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Lance has been very, very good to me. That's not something everyone wants to hear because people only like to hear the bad stuff.
"You can only take someone how they treat you and Lance has been a source of inspiration to me and a constant source of help towards me and is one of the main factors why I'm in this position I am today mentally and physically, so, I'm indebted to him for that."
Asked how often he's in touch with Armstrong, he replied: "I won't say every day, but I work for him."
Wiggins, who in 2012 the first Brit to win the Tour de France, will be working for Armstrong to cover this summer's event on his podcast. The Team GB legend has stated that Armstrong offered to pay for his therapy, a gesture which he initially refused before saying that he'd reconsider.
"We are all humans at the end of the day and it is a human story and I've had lots of events in my life that informed the problems I had in my life post-cycling," Wiggins continued.
"I'd never had therapy or counselling during my time as a cyclist because you're perceived as a cyclist - or certainly when you're an Olympic champion or the Tour de France winner - to be incredibly mentally strong."
Wiggins added: "I was one for not taking on help as well or asking for help. I'm never going to make the same mistake twice, so I've sort of vowed that to myself. I've learned from the past.
"I'm coming up to 10 years to retirement and I knew nothing else other than cycling really, and having everything done for you on a daily basis. It took me a long time to adapt to normal life, as it were, and all the things that contribute to keeping me in a steady place."
Speaking to the Observer last month, Wiggins opened up on the extent of his addiction. "There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning," he revealed. "I was a functioning addict. People wouldn't realise - I was high most of the time for many years."
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