British cyclist Bradley Wiggins recently became the first Brit to win the Tour de France, but the 32-year-old one-upped himself on Wednesday while competing for the home team in the 2012 London Olympics. He earned Great Britain its second gold medal of the games when he crossed the finish line in the men’s time trial race.
Bradley Wiggins Wins Cycling Time Trial, Is Going To Get Drunk
Wiggins ended the race with a time of 50:39.54 -- a whopping 42 seconds ahead of his closest competitor -- as he became the first cyclist to win both the Tour de France and a gold medal at the Olympics in the same summer.
More important than that was how Wiggins also became his country’s most successful Olympic athlete, as he passed Sir Steve Redgrave’s mark of six medals by earning his seventh in the time trial. It’s quite the feat -- especially considering that prior to Wednesday the host team had been held without a gold medal -- so Wiggins’s celebration plans pretty much make sense.
“I’m certainly going to go get a bit drunk tonight, but I think I’ve earned it,” Wiggins said. His drink of choice? A vodka tonic.
Wiggins’s country will be celebrating his big victory too, as The Mirror reports that those in Great Britain will be able to buy a stamp commemorating the cyclist’s feats beginning on Thursday.
Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene said: “We’re delighted to be issuing these very special gold medal stamps to recognise our Olympic champion UK athletes. This is a first for Royal Mail and we are proud to play our part in celebrating the many victories this summer.”
The best news about the Wiggins win on Wednesday is probably that it likely won’t be his country’s last. Track cycling -- where Britain took home seven of the ten gold medals at Beijing in 2008 -- begins on Thursday.
For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation’s London 2012 Olympics Hub. For more on Olympic Cycling, follow the 2012 Olympic Cycling section.
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