Gary Wiggins
Gary Wiggins (20 November 1952 – 25 January 2008)[2][3][4] was an Australian professional cyclist, who specialised in six-day racing. His son is the British cyclist, five-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins.
 Wiggins in 1981 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Wiggins |
| Nickname | The Doc[1] |
| Born | 20 November 1952 Yallourn, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 25 January 2008 (aged 55) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Track and road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Six-day |
| Amateur team | |
| 1976 | Archer Road Club |
| Professional teams | |
| 1976–1977 | Falcon |
| 1978 | Harry Quinn-Galli |
| 1979 | Marc Zeepcentrale-Superia |
| 1980 | Marc-V.R.D. |
| 1981 | Fangio-Sapeco-Mavic |
| 1982 | Galli-Shimano |
| 1983 | Aernoudt-Rossin |
| 1983 | Kotter |
| 1984 | Fangio-Ecoturbo |
| 1985–1987 | Marc-Ecoturbo[2] |
Early life
Wiggins was born in Yallourn, Victoria, Australia, in 1952, the younger child, and only son, of Roy Wiggins and his wife. The young Wiggins showed ability in cycling, and participated in cycling competitions around Victoria and Australia, becoming the National Junior Track champion.[5]
Cycling career
Wiggins represented Australia several times at world track championships. He was national champion in the 1 km time trial, and the 4000m team pursuit as part of the Victoria state team. He had a surge of speed at the end of races, which won sprint finishes. Wiggins married as a teenager and had a daughter Shannon, but left his family and Australia for the United Kingdom in 1974.[6] He raced as an amateur for Archer Road Club in west London.[7] Wiggins met his next wife Linda in England. The couple were living together from 1976; they married in January 1979, before moving to Ghent, Belgium, to pursue his racing career.[8] Bradley was born there in 1980.[7] The marriage broke down in 1982[3] and for 14 years Wiggins had no contact with his son,[9] who returned to London with his mother.[10]
He raced on the Continent for nine years; during this period he partied hard and had a reputation as a supplier of amphetamines to other riders.[11] With Tony Doyle, he rode the Six Day circuit in Europe, in 1985 winning the Bremen Six Day. The same year he won the European Madison championship also with Doyle. He was also successful on the European Kermesse circuit including in 1981 beating Lucien Van Impe at Eeklo in Belgium.[7][9] In Australia in 1985, Wiggins won the Melbourne Cup on Wheels and a 1000-kilometre road race in Western Australia.[7]
Post-cycling life
Wiggins retired from professional cycling and returned permanently to Australia after a crash in Copenhagen in January 1987.[12] Wiggins worked as a housepainter in Muswellbrook, New South Wales, in later years.[11][13] He remarried and had a second daughter, but this marriage also failed.[14][15] He struggled with alcohol and drug issues.[11][13] In his autobiography, Bradley Wiggins described a visit as a teenager with his father prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, recalling that "Most of his days would consist of buying a couple of crates of VBs ... and steadily drinking himself into a stupor."[11][16]
Death
On 25 January 2008, Wiggins was found unconscious in Segenhoe Street, Aberdeen. He was taken to nearby Muswellbrook Hospital before being airlifted to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, where he died.[7] The coroner's inquest found that the evening before, Wiggins had attended a party at a house in Aberdeen, but soon had fought with the man who lived at the house. He had been thrown to the ground several times and ejected from the party.[13] After some time, he got to his feet and walked away unsteadily, before collapsing less than a mile away.[13] The inquest determined that the cause of death had been a heavy blow to the back of the head.[13] An open verdict on the cause of death was returned, due to lack of evidence: it was not possible to determine whether the head trauma had been received during the fight at the party, or if Wiggins had hit his head in falling. However, the coroner did find that two witnesses, including the party's host, had lied during the inquest. Another witness exercised his right not to give evidence.[11][13] Wiggins' sister has continued to publicly question the verdict and has requested that the police investigation be reopened.[13] In the wake of Bradley Wiggins' Tour de France win, she renewed her calls for witnesses to Gary Wiggins' last hours to come forward with more information.[13]
Palmarès
- 1976
- 10th Chequers Grand Prix
- 1977
- 8th Tour of Essex
- 1979
- 3rd Dentergem
- 1980
- 3rd Belsele
- 2nd Eeklo
- 3rd Zele (b)
- 2nd Sinaai
- 2nd Petegem-aan-de-Leie
- 4th Madison, European Track Championships
- 1981
- 3rd Beringen
- 1st Eeklo (b)
- 1st Melle
- 4th Circuit Escaut-Durme
- 6th Omloop van Brecht
- 1982
- 3rd Dentergem
- 3rd Westrozebeke
- 1983
- 3rd Essen
- 2nd Madison, European Track Championships
- 3rd Petegem-aan-de-Leie
- 1st Madison, Trexlertown (with Brian Tilley)
- 1984
- 2nd Bremen, Six Days
- 1st Madison, European Track Championships (with Tony Doyle)
- 2nd Six-Days of Grenoble
- 2nd Ulm
- 1st Nienburg
- 2nd Petegem-aan-de-Leie
- 1985
- 1st Bremen Six (with Tony Doyle)
- 2nd Madison, European Track Championships (with Tony Doyle)
- 3rd München, Six Days
- 1st Stage 2 Griffin 1000 West
- 1st Stage 4 Griffin 1000 West
- 1986
- 2nd Launceston, Six Days
References
- "PEZ Remembers: Gary Wiggins". PezCycling News. 1 February 2008.
- "Gary Wiggins". Cycling Website. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009.
- "Biker's father dies in Australia". BBC News. 30 January 2008.
- "Gary Wiggins". Cycle Base.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 13.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 14.
- Gerard Knapp (2008). "Wiggins' father's death suspicious: Australian police". Cyclingnews.com.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 16.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 17.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 24.
- Murphy, Damien (24 July 2012). "Triomphe and tragedy: cycling champ's father took a wrong turn". smh.com.au. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 22.
- Thorne, Frank (25 July 2012). "Bradley Wiggins's Tour de France glory could help solve dark secret of father's violent death in Australia". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK: Telegraph Media Group. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 49632006. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 11.
- Wiggins 2012, p. 48–51.
- Leo Schlink (23 July 2012). "Wiggins haunted by Aussie father". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
Bibliography
- Wiggins, Bradley (2012). In Pursuit of Glory. London, UK: Orion. ISBN 978-1-4091-2913-4. Retrieved 21 January 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)