Bradley Wiggins: My Hour

Written by Bradley Wiggins

Narrated by Tom Watt

For 60 minutes this summer, the British public stopped what they were doing switched on their radios, their TVs, refreshed their Twitter feeds and followed Bradley Wiggins’s attempt to break one of sport’s most gruelling records: The Hour.

The premise is simple enough: how far can you cycle in one hour. But it is thought to be one of the toughest events an athlete can endure, both physically and psychologically. Eddy Merckx, cycling’s über-champ, called it the hardest thing he ever did. Wiggins, like many before him, discovered the unique pain of pushing yourself as hard as you can for 60 minutes.

In this revealing book, Bradley Wiggins takes you behind the scenes of his record attempt. From planning to preparation, to training to execution, Bradley shares his thoughts on his sacrifices, his heroes, and the people who have supported him along the way as well as what’s to come as he heads towards the twilight of his stellar career.

My Hour is a fitting celebration of one of Britain’s best-loved sportsmen in his finest hour.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House
• Release date: Nov 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473545526

Bradley Wiggins

Born in Belgium in 1980 and raised in London, Sir Bradley Wiggins is the greatest cyclist the UK has produced. In a long and distinguished career, he won five Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship titles. In 2012 he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Just ten days later he won Time Trial gold at the London Olympics then and cemented his National Treasure status by being voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The boom in cycling in the UK is often attributed to his exploits in that momentous year. Wiggins was knighted for services to cycling in 2013 and broke the hour record in 2015. He retired from professional cycling at the end of 2016. He lives in London.

Reviews for Bradley Wiggins

[pdcread · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cycling is full of great races, The Tour, the Giro, Paris-Roubaix. These are tough, and few have the capacity to win, but these are all undertaken with lots of other riders. There is one cycling record that is even more gruelling than these; The Hour. Those that have set a new record join an elite club; those that have won the Tour de France and set a record are the crème de la crème.

One man.

On paper it looks simple enough, how far can you cycle for one hour. But this is one of cycling and sports toughest events mentally and physically. If you start hard and fast you’ll fade by the end, if you start slow, then you’ll never be able to reach your target. It is a discipline that requires a metronomic speed around the track with fraction of second differences each lap. Many riders who have undertaken, including the great Merckx, it say it is the hardest thing that they have ever done.

One bike..

The UCI have changed the rules several times on the type of bike and position the rider can use. They can now ride with a regular time trial machine. Naturally the bike Wiggo uses is very technical advanced. They spent a large fortune on the Pinarello Bolide and is pure excellence for the bike geek, it includes custom printed titanium set of handlebars, reduced friction chain, redesigned front fork and a carbon frame designed in conjunction with Jaguar. It is a thing of beauty.

One hour…

He takes us behind the preparation for this attempt. But as a team they had nothing to go on, so they designed their own programme building of stamina and utilising the famous ‘marginal gains’ that UK cycling is now known for. Scattered throughout the book is profiles of those that have taken on this challenge and won; these men were heroes of Wiggins, and with this he joins their ranks. The photography in the book is brilliant, there is a mix of informal portraits, arty bike shots and dynamic image as he hurtles around the velodrome. It is a really enjoyable read by one of my favourite sportsmen as he takes on that clock.