2012 OLYMPICS - Wiggins Triumph

The man is immense. He stromed to victory in the Olympic time trial yesterday, and in so doing made yet more history - most Olympic medals ever won by a british athlete and the only man to ever win the Tour de France and Olympic gold in the same year.

Ask any person in Britain to name our best athlete, and chances are Bradley Wiggins will be the name they offer - such is the fervour surrounding his achievements over the last month.

It all started on 28 April 1980. Jimmy Cater was President of the United States, Blondie were number 1 with Call Me. And like many great cyclists, he was born in Belgium - the base of his cyclist father Gary. Naturally, he followed in his father's footsteps - although it was on the track that the young Wiggins made his mark. Aged just 20, he won his first Olympic medal, a bronze in the team pursuit, at the Sydney Games in 2000. Despite dalliances on the road, it was in Athens in 2004 where he really began to make a name for himself, wining Gold in pursuit, Silver in team pursuit and Bronze in the Madison (a 50Km race on the track, with two men in a team, cycling in a 'tag-team' format - it was dropped for the 2012 London Olympics).

Shortly after, he headed for the road, with spells at Credit Agricole and Cofidis, and it was hear that he had his first experience with drugs, when team mate Cristian Moreni tested positive and the team was forced out of the Tour. Wiggins later said he felt like 'punching the drugs cheat'. But the road bug had bitten.

Track cycling was, and still is, a massive part of his cycling life. The 2008 Olympics beckoned, and two more gold medals were added to the trophy cabinet.

It was the 2009 Tour de France, riding for Garmin, where he finally came of age as a GC (General Classification) contender. His time trial and mountain climbing skills helped him to 4th place overall - the joint highest ever finish at the Tour by a British rider (Robert Millar finished 4th in 1984).

The 2010 Tour was, however, a disappointment for Wiggins, and things got worse in 2011 after he crashed out on stage 7 with a broken collarbone. Not one to be discouraged, Wiggins knew that under the super scientific regime set by Sky he was well on the way to winning his first Grand Tour.

Fast forward to 2012, and with Paris-Nice, Tour de Romandie and Criterium du Dauphine wins under his belt, everybody knew he was the man to beat in the Tour de France. The stars were aligning for Wiggins. With Cadel Evans relegated to second favourite, and not having looked especially good in the early part of the season, and the Schleck brothers having all sorts of problems, he would not get a better chance to win.

Wiggins was faultless at the Tour - as were Team Sky. A regular feature at the front of the peloton, they set a furious pace which neutralised attacks from other contenders. By the end of the first week he was in the Yellow jersey - and he never gave it back.

Which brings us to London 2012. The time trial. Of course he was favourite, but there were doubts out there. Would he be too tired after the Tour? had he worked too hard in the Olympic road race? The answer was a resounding no. Despite being several seconds behind Tony Martin at the first checkpoint (Wiggins rarely starts fast these days), he pumped out a steady rhythm around the course, his trade mark flat-back aero position dominating the tv screens. Cancellara? He wasn't in it from the off - injuries his nemesis. Instead only Martin and Sky team mate Froome could cause the upset.

But they never really came close. With each check point Wiggins stretched out the lead before coming in 42 seconds ahead of Martin. It's a goal Wiggins and his team had been working on for some time

“When Cancellara was annihilating the field in 2009, from that moment on my coaching team has been looking at powers and cadence and rolling resistance,” Wiggins said. “Then Tony [Martin] went past Fabian last year and raised the bar again, and we were all quite far behind. So the main thing we have been doing is working on cadence, worked on torque and things and working hard right through the winter on bits of equipment position, and closed the gap.

“That is what sport is all about you can give up at that point as most people do and say he’s on drugs or say he is an incredible athletes, lets look at what he has been doing and try and match him.

“It is very satisfying when you work so hard at something and you eventually get there.”

It's a work ethic few other cyclists have been able to match. And if it stays that way, 2013 could be another great year for Mr Wiggins.

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