Cycling hero Bradley Wiggins reveals his shocking battle with cocaine addiction!

The British sporting icon, who hung up his competitive wheels in 2016, confessed that his life spiralled into a dark abyss of substance abuse and financial difficulties. Wiggins, now 45, admitted there were moments when his own son feared discovering him dead. "I was a functioning addict. People wouldn’t realise. I was high most of the time for many years," he stated, laying bare the secret life he led away from the public eye. He courageously quit his severe habit a year ago, without initial external assistance.

"I was doing sh..loads of cocaine. I had a really bad problem," Wiggins confessed, revealing his children had considered putting him into rehabilitation. "I realised I had a huge problem. I had to stop. I’m lucky to be here." He acknowledged his struggles were a "form of self-harm and self-sabotage," stemming from deep-seated self-hatred, and a desire to ease internal pain.

In a surprising turn, Wiggins disclosed that disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who himself confessed to doping in 2013, has been a source of support. Armstrong, who also aided former rival Jan Ullrich through addiction, had reportedly been "worried about me for a long time," with Wiggins' son often acting as a point of contact when Wiggins himself was unreachably lost in his addiction.

"They wouldn't hear from me for days on end," Wiggins recalled, highlighting the irony of seeking help from such a figure in the absence of robust support systems within cycling governance.

Wiggins, who also touched upon the lingering questions surrounding the infamous ‘Jiffy bag’ incident that clouded his later career, says he can now speak candidly about his experiences, admitting to "living a lie" for a long time. His forthcoming autobiography, "The Chain," is set to explore his childhood trauma, his rollercoaster career, and the subsequent addiction that nearly cost him everything. He acknowledges his addictive proclivities, stating, "There’s no middle ground for me."