Bradley Wiggins picks up his bike again after years: "I'm a little bit nervous"

Bradley Wiggins will finally get back on his bike after three years. The 44-year-old Brit stopped his professional career in 2016 and hasn't touched his racing bike for a long time. Soon, that will change.

The former Tour de France winner announced on Instagram that on September 29, he will participate in a meet-and-greet ride of fifty miles in Staffordshire. "The first time in nearly three years for me getting back on a bike, and I'm looking forward to it," Wiggins said. "I'm a little bit nervous whether I'll get round the whole thing. I think I will, I'm in pretty good shape at the moment."

Read more below the Instagram post.

Wiggins opened up about painful childhood and career

This is a positive development for the five-time Olympic champion. Recently, the 2014 time trial world champion revealed that he no longer found joy in cycling. "Because I don’t like the person I am when I’m on the bike," Wiggins explained at the time. "I can't imagine how I could achieve anything in the sport now because I'm not the same person anymore. I have all the answers by now, both from my athletic career and the unresolved issues from my childhood."

The former track cyclist was also candid about those childhood problems. His father left the family early on, and his stepfather was not good to the young Wiggins. Even when he took up cycling, he couldn't escape his problems. For years, he faced sexual abuse from a coach. "My biggest shame was in the fact that another man had done that to me. I couldn't deal with how bad that is, especially at that age. It's a trauma and from then on I just pretended nothing happened."

Wiggins also lost his home this year due to various financial problems. Thanks in part to his job at Eurosport, he managed to get back on his feet a little. The fact that the Brit is getting back on his bike is good news: hopefully, he can see that cycling can also bring joy.