Bankrupt Bradley Wiggins lands controversial job after cycling legend ‘lost everything’ & faces selling medals
BANKRUPT Bradley Wiggins has landed a controversial job after “losing everything” – but still faces selling his medals.
The eight-time Olympic medallist and Tour de France winner was declared bankrupt by a court last month.
Bradley’s home was repossessed and sold off and trustees have been appointed to seize his assets – including his medals and trophies.
But he has now got a new job hosting a Tour de France podcast with disgraced cycling star Lance Armstrong.
Seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned for life after he admitted doping.
Bradley has joined Armstrong’s podcast for at least a week to commentate on the race, Sticky Bottle reports.
Speaking on the podcast, he told Armstrong how he had put on weight and started smoking before quitting.
He said: “I think I went through this transition period. It’s also about finding a new equilibrium, a balance.”
It comes after Bradley’s lawyer said he is bankrupt, homeless and has “lost everything”.
The Olympic cyclist has suffered a litany of financial problems with his business ventures.
Bradley’s lawyer Alan Sellers said his converted £975,000 barn in the north Lancashire countryside has been repossessed and sold.
Ex-wife Cath has allowed Bradley to stay at her home 20 miles away in Lytham St Anne’s, Sellers added.
He told the Mail: “Brad is sofa-surfing. It is a total mess. He has lost absolutely everything.
“His family home, his home in Majorca, his savings and investments.
“He doesn’t have a penny. He doesn’t have an address. It’s a very sad state of affairs.”
Bradley is said to view his medals and trophies as meaningless “junk”, but could fetch up to £250,000 if he flogged them to a collector.
His business Wiggins Rights Limited entered liquidation in 2020 owing £650,000, including £313,447 to HM Revenue & Customs.
The firm – owned by Sir Bradley, his ex-wife Cath and mum Linda – owns the trademarks to Bradley Wiggins, Wiggo and Wiggins.
A spokesman said at the time Bradley’s “involvement in the companies was not day to day” and “this in no way affects his personal solvency”.
Liquidators made a £1million claim against Bradley, which he disputed.
A claim for £760,373 made a year prior had been escalated, with administrators, who were seeking money from to pay back an overdrawn director’s loan, “reviewing the company’s books and records”.
In September that year administrators’ documents revealed Sir Bradley entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in order to stave off bankruptcy.
Sir Bradley previously said the financial difficulties are a “very historical matter” that “involves professional negligence” by others and has “left a s***pile with my name at the front of it to deal with”.
He continued: “Happens to a lot of sportsmen while they’re doing the grafting and on that there’ll be a number of legal claims from my lawyers left, right and centre as a result.”
Sir Bradley's rise and fall
2004
Bradley wins the first of his five Olympic gold medals at in Athens, competing in the Individual Pursuit race.
2008
Bradley wins two more golds at the Beijing Olympics.
2012
Bradley becomes the first man to win Olympic gold and the Tour de France in the same year.
2016
Bradley wins his final Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.
2017
Spear’s Magazine cited Sir Bradley’s net worth as £13million.
It was a figure that had him only behind Andy Murray and Justin Rose in Team GB’s class of 2016.
There were lucrative brand deals with companies such as Fred Perry and Skoda, the latter of which was a seven-figure deal.
2022
Liquidators made a £1m claim against him – something he disputed.
A claim for £760,373 made a year prior had been escalated, with administrators, who were seeking money from to pay back an overdrawn director’s loan, “reviewing the company’s books and records”.
In September that year administrators’ documents revealed Sir Bradley entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in order to stave off bankruptcy.
2024
The cyclist was declared bankrupt at Lancaster county court on June 3.