Talk:Bradley Wiggins

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At the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4km Individual Pursuit, defending his title from four years earlier. In doing so he became the first rider ever to successfully defend his pursuit title at the Olympics. On 17 August, he was a key member of the Olympic team pursuit squad which broke the world record in the heats with a time of 3:55:202, beating their Russian opponents comfortably to go through to the final ride-off for silver and gold.[5] The following day, on their way to winning the gold medal, the British Team pursuit broke their own world record in a time of 3:53:314, beating their Danish competitors by 6.7 seconds.[6] Wiggins paired up with Mark Cavendish but finished eighth.

The statement "Wiggens paired up with Mark Cavendish but finished eighth" has no antecedent. Clearly it does not refer to the team pursuit event, which is a four man event in which he won gold. Almost undoubtedly it refers to the Madison event, a two man team event, so it probably should read something like "Wiggens also partnered with Mark Cavendish in the Madison event in which they garnered an eighth place finish." Acerbas (talk) 18:17, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

Palmarès
As this is an English language article, I think it would make more sense to list the title of this section as "Career Achievements" or something similar. This is how the same information is listed on Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd's pages. 170.141.177.66 (talk) 13:46, 26 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I'd say Palmarès is an acceptable word in English to describe a cycling career results list, the way that peoloton is also now an English langauge word. --Pretty Green (talk) 19:15, 26 July 2012 (UTC)


 * Mind you, it's not in the dictionary... well it could be changed I suppose. --Pretty Green (talk) 19:17, 26 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree - "palmarès" is not an English word so should be replaced by one which is.... -- ChrisTheDude (talk) 07:40, 2 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Palmares is used in the English language but rarely by people who don't know too much about the sport. SeveroTC 09:04, 2 August 2012 (UTC)

Quotations
I have removed the Quotations section. Mainly because there is no specific point to this section other than rants towards a subject at the time. For instance what does Big Brother have in relevance to this article. Also the last quote is rather inappropriate. Edinburgh  Wanderer  22:49, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Medals table in infobox
I think the chronology is all messed up. Shouldn't they be listed by class and year?? Manchester came after Stuttgart for instance in the World Championships. 109.150.46.16 (talk) 16:03, 1 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Colour comes before year. There's a couple out of place. SeveroTC 16:07, 1 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Note that road and track cycling are separate sports and should be treated as such in this list. --Pretty Green (talk) 16:20, 1 August 2012 (UTC)

Timeliness
BaldBoris, the wikiaudience will still give you attention if you wait until the olympics are aired on television around the world before you give the results. how about thinking a little when it comes to publishing sports results before the events have been broadcast. Mr etler (talk) 16:53, 1 August 2012 (UTC)


 * WP:Wikipedia is not censored, Wikipedia contains spoilers, and Wikipedia is not responsible for checking the broadcasting schedules of the world. In other words, don't go onto Wikipedia if you don't want to know a sports result. --Pretty Green (talk) 17:41, 1 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Oh, and Use Wikipedia at your own risk!. --Pretty Green (talk) 17:45, 1 August 2012 (UTC)


 * I say NICE ONE, BaldBoris, for getting the results on here before other places! In fact, during the Olympics the Wiki medal table (2012_Summer_Olympics_medal_table) has often been more up-to-date than even the official table. That's Wikipedia at its best. 86.171.205.70 (talk) 06:57, 2 August 2012 (UTC)

New image?
Given his recent Olympic success, it would be cool to see a new image for wiggo on his page. I mean the current one doesn't even have his trademark sidebrns lol

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.215.66.160 (talk) 01:43, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Simply put, well done at the olympics and TDF. With his recent pre-Tour success, there was no doubt he could do it, but he did it without much Tour pedigree. The previous fourth place finish is good, but one would expect more of a winner. Doesn't really matter as all that does matter is what you do on this year's tour and this includes all stages and all time trials. You don't need to win any stage, but rather just come in better than the top competitors on each day. Great formula and the only one to come close to him was his own teamate. Aganin, well done. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.139.67.70 (talk) 15:25, 4 August 2012 (UTC)


 * Agree about the sideburns image, and it should also be put in the gallery on the Sideburns page which currently has just one living sideburn-wearing gentleman. 87.112.181.220 (talk) 21:47, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 27 October 2012
Wiggins has been promoted to third place in the 2009 Tour de France following Lance Armstrong's disqualification:,. Can his palmares and the text be changed accodingly?

90.195.129.15 (talk) 09:59, 27 October 2012 (UTC)
 * ✅ -Nathan Johnson (talk) 22:05, 27 October 2012 (UTC)

Image for his Olympic Time Trial Win
I noticed that the image we're currently using for the Olympics Time Trial, while superficially not a bad image, is actually really very blurry when viewed in detail. I took a number of high quality images of him during the race and think they're substantially better than this one, but given I'm biased, I figured I would confirm here before replacing the image. Comments? &#208;iliff   &#171;&#187;  (Talk)  18:25, 3 November 2012 (UTC)
 * As it's being used as a thumbnail the quality issue doesn't really matter. The current image captures the atmosphere of the race, rather than just a man on a bike. Not worth losing that for the sake of a higher quality one. BaldBoris 18:46, 3 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It isn't being used as a thumbnail any more than any other photo on Wikipedia is being used as a thumbnail. All photos are clickable, and when clicked, any flaws often become very visible such as in this case. It's silly and short-sighted to consider photos only by their thumbnail IMO. &#208;iliff    &#171;&#187;  (Talk)
 * Both pictures look fine at screen size as well as thumbnail. It is only when looking at the 100% version you see Diliff's is considerably less blurred, though it isn't exactly pin sharp either. However, the proposed one lacks the atmosphere of the cheering crowd (as BaldBoris notes), has a tight vertical crop, and looks quite static. So, I'm afraid, Diliff, I prefer the current one for the article. Have you got any others to consider? -- Colin°Talk 09:31, 18 November 2012 (UTC)

Copy edit, November 2012

 * The article was inconsistent on the use or otherwise of Oxford commas. I've gone without them. Hope that's OK. --Stfg (talk) 16:38, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * 2007: "... and Wiggins and his team mates were led away from the Tour by police.[26]" was not in the source. Shuffled to FN27 and replaced with what that says. --Stfg (talk) 16:38, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * 2012 (end of 2nd paragraph): "His final stage victory was also good enough to give him the points classification ahead of Alejandro Valverde.[93]" This is a bit jargony (I don't know what the points classification is). Is there something to wikilink to? I don't think the source (currently FN93) verifies the statement, but cannot be sure without more explanation. --Stfg (talk) 13:09, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * The points classification is the award that sprinters aim to win (e.g. Mark Cavendish). So it was an unexpected win for Wiggins. Not particularly notable so could be removed. BaldBoris 14:50, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * 2012 (5th paragraph): "Wiggins began the Tour with second place in the prologue, behind Fabian Cancellara but taking time from all of his general classification rivals,[101]". I want to delete the words "but taking time from all of his general classification rivals" for the following reasons: (a) since the prologue is the first stage, the general classification at that stage is the same as the results of the stage, therefore those words are redundant; (b) since he came second, it's obvious that he would have taken time from everyone except the guy who came first. Am I missing anything? --Stfg (talk) 13:59, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Cancellara is a time trial specialist so never figures in the general classification, unlike Wiggins who can also ride up the hills/mountains with the general classification contenders who may not be as good at the time trial. BaldBoris 15:02, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * To play devil's advocate, I could mention that Cancellara figured in the general classification when he won the prologue. My point really is that the fact that Wiggins came second already tells us all we need to know about who he took time from and who he didn't, and these words are in the nature of editorialising about Cancellara's prospects. I'm sure you're right, but after all, surprises do happen (as you mentioned above). --Stfg (talk) 16:07, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * 2012: "hinted he may return to track cycling at the Six Days of Ghent in November.[124]" -- needs bringing up to date. --Stfg (talk) 15:20, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Removed it as it didn't happen, probably due to his crash. BaldBoris 16:56, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Personal life: "His favourite musician is Paul Weller." Removed. The source doesn't say that, and it would be subject to change at a moment's notice anyway. --Stfg (talk) 17:28, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Wiggins talks about his music here, he said "As for Paul Weller, I love the guy as a musician, I’m really taken by his music, but it’s a mistake to say, as some people have, that I idolise him.". They recorded an interview together for the BBC earlier this month so there's something that could be mentioned. BaldBoris 17:45, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Please do, but statement and source need to correspond. People's favourite musicians change at the drop of a hat anyway, so it's probably just recentism. --Stfg (talk) 18:17, 28 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Personal life: The list of Gary's sins is WP:COPYPASTEd from the source. I've reduced it to a phrase. It must not be restored in its copyvio form. --Stfg (talk) 18:17, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Personal life: "Wiggins launched the Wiggo Foundation in May 2012, which aims to promote participation in sport and encourage people to exercise on a regular basis.[148] Wiggins named the foundation after his nickname, garnered from fans and the media, "Wiggo", frequently paired with the RAF roundel.[149]" Lots of problems here. FN148 doesn't mention May. The source calls it the Bradley Wiggins Foundation, not the Wiggo Foundation. The aims were copy-pasted. (If the foundation has a web site, it would be better to direct-quote from there.) FN 149 (this) didn't support any of what was cited to it, so I'm just deleting that. --Stfg (talk) 18:17, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * General: The article is severely WP:OVERLINKed, a problem I've only partly been able to tackle. The main problem is that every stage of every event has been linked separately, even though often around 10 such stages are actually covered in the same target article. The page looks blotchy blue-black. Some way of fixing this needs to be thought of. --Stfg (talk) 09:46, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Sir ?
Why is he a Sir when he is "only" a CBE ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.49.47.150 (talk) 20:37, 11 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Because he is a Knight Bachelor.--Racklever (talk) 22:53, 11 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.49.47.150 (talk) 00:04, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
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Doping allegations
The edit summary is too small to fully explain myself, so let me clarify that I'm obviously not arguing that Armstrong is innocent. In fact it's precisely because he's guilty that we must be very careful including anything which effectively says "Wiggins is doing the same things as Armstrong". – Smyth\talk 10:38, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Wiggins had permission from a panel of three doctors to use the medication. We are not meant to put forward our own opinions about this decision. Any discussion of doping or comparison to dopers clearly violates the BLP policy.--Racklever (talk) 13:07, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * It seems to be common cause that Wiggins used banned performance-enhancing steroids on a number of occasions. The difference is that Wiggins won a number of high-profile events while using banned performance-enhancing steroids with official permission, while Armstrong won a number of high-profile events while using banned performance-enhancing steroids without official permission. Chalk and cheese. How difficult could it be to explain this clearly to the readers? Wdford (talk) 15:42, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * The idea is quite simple. Saying "Wiggins used banned performance-enhancing steroids" is incorrect. He had a TUE so the drugs he took were not banned. Mentioning Armstrong just seems to be the cycling equivalent of Godwin's Law. --Racklever (talk) 16:01, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * So would it then be acceptable to you to say that "On a number of occasions, Wiggins obtained permission through a TUE to use performance-enhancing steroids which are ordinarily banned by WADA"?
 * Re Godwin's Law, that article itself states that: "Godwin's law itself can be abused as a distraction, diversion or even as censorship, fallaciously miscasting an opponent's argument as hyperbole when the comparisons made by the argument are actually appropriate." Wdford (talk) 17:11, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Wdford: very similar wording is already in the article, and I'm fine with that.
 * We shouldn't refer to "steroids" without further qualification. The majority of readers will assume that means anabolic steroids, which is not the case. Corticosteroids are restricted for a completely different reason: because they allow a competitor to prevent what would otherwise be unbearable inflammation caused by pushing their body beyond its limits. – Smyth\talk 18:00, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * , can I ask you if you are interested in cycling or do you just like to fuel controversy? This is an encyclopedia, not a place for anti-sentiment tones. I'm sure there are plenty of websites out there that you can discuss this to your heart's content. If someone's actually interested in this I'm sure Wikipedia would be the last place they'd go to. BaldBoris 21:57, 25 September 2016 (UTC)
 * Actually, if someone's interested in this I'm sure Wikipedia would be the FIRST place they'd go to for proper info on the issue. Following the huge publicity of the recent Rio Olympics, where hundreds of Russians were banned even though they never tested positive ever, the fact that some British athletes have repeatedly been given PERMISSION to use banned performance-enhancing substances is quite notable. This is particularly the case with cycling - a sport which has been much plagued by doping. Wikipedia rules require that we report the facts neutrally and without bias either way. Wdford (talk) 08:21, 26 September 2016 (UTC)
 * For a recent story that involves strong opinions you'd go to a website that anyone and everyone can edit to look for facts? OK. As for the middle, please read WP:NOTFORUM. I think you're clearly showing bias with you choice of words and links with LA. If you think you aren't, I wouldn't like to see what you really want to write. BaldBoris 09:37, 26 September 2016 (UTC)

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HoC committee report
This article gives a lot of prominence to the findings of the House of Commons Committee regarding alleged performance enhancing use of TUEs. I just wanted to point out that these findings have since been challenged.

In my view a reference link to the following study should be added for balance.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/olympics/tues-dont-help-you-win-an-olympic-medal-according-to-anti-doping-study-456411 Firestar47 (talk) 15:30, 19 February 2022 (UTC)


 * Your link is WP:OR. The linked article makes it clear that Wiggins had lots of TUE injections, and thereafter won lots of races. The only link in this article between Wiggins, TUE's and the Olympics is a mention that Wiggins used TUE's to win the 2012 Tour de France, and then won the London 2012 Olympic time trial straight afterwards. That is already included.
 * What happens in the Olympics is a different thing to cycling, and there are many forms of TUE and many forms of Olympic sport - and different TUE's will not always be "useful" in particular sports. For example, using triamcinolone is a big aid in cycling, but would be useless in target shooting.
 * What the article perhaps should have investigated is the ridiculously large number of professional cyclists who have asthma, and who win using TUE's - that would have been a very revealing statistic. Instead Lord Coe protects asthmatic British cyclists using TUE's to win, and instead points fingers at Russian athletes who have never failed a test in their lives, in order to "punish" their country. Wdford (talk) 15:59, 19 February 2022 (UTC)