Wiggins Discussion thread.

[Izzyeviel]

what the frick are you all talking about??

 

[Unchained]

Right, it's too bad he's behaved like a clown pretty much ever since...a real trainwreck, just as bad as Ullrich really but with no "excuse".

I only read back a few dozen posts but so I am clear Jan Ullrich and Brad Wiggins are parallels? If so Wiggins sure entered and exited rehab quietly. I am guessing you have not seen too many trainwrecks..and Sir Wig likes the Stone Roses..Jan listens to cow bell music..

 

[Rob5091]

Love him or hate him, it's a tragic end -
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...t-medals-trophies-financial-difficulties.html
Sir Bradley Wiggins has been declared bankrupt and could be forced to hand over his medals and trophies after falling into financial difficulties.

The eight-time Olympic medallist was declared bankrupt at Lancaster county court on June 3, according to The Times, following years of money troubles with numerous business ventures over the years.

Wiggins Rights Limited, a company owned by Wiggins, his former wife Cath and his mother Linda, entered voluntary liquidation in 2020 with debts of £650,000.

 

[RedheadDane]

Love him or hate him, it's a tragic end -

You scared me!
I thought he had... like Westra...

 

[samhocking]

Love him or hate him, it's a tragic end -
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...t-medals-trophies-financial-difficulties.html
Sir Bradley Wiggins has been declared bankrupt and could be forced to hand over his medals and trophies after falling into financial difficulties.

The eight-time Olympic medallist was declared bankrupt at Lancaster county court on June 3, according to The Times, following years of money troubles with numerous business ventures over the years.

Wiggins Rights Limited, a company owned by Wiggins, his former wife Cath and his mother Linda, entered voluntary liquidation in 2020 with debts of £650,000.

LTD company so he isn't personally bankrupt or liable for it obviously, all that earned money is still in his personal account/investments, hence why they would sell the medals as that might be considered a company asset for creditors / IVA agreement.

 

[awavey]

LTD company so he isn't personally bankrupt or liable for it obviously, all that earned money is still in his personal account/investments, hence why they would sell the medals as that might be considered a company asset for creditors / IVA agreement.

assuming he was smart about his finances, ok I know thats an oxymoron given the circumstances, but the earned money would have gone to the LTD company account, and then simply paid monies to him as when it was needed, as that would minimise the tax, and limit his personal liabilities to it when they went bankrupt.

and the creditors cant chase him or attempt to seize his own personal possessions for collateral, certainly not ones the company didnt acquire for him, because they arent owned by the company.

fwiw I think the value of the medals and trophies is 0 anyway, as Im sure Ive read before athletes struggle to insure them for theft as theyre essentially priceless one offs that you cant buy or replace and so they have no intrinsic monetary value, they might make money in an open auction, but i dont think you can put them on a balance sheet that way.

be interesting to know where the money for his recent audience with shows went, as it wasnt just ticket revenues, they were doing meet&greets,signings/selfies for considerable £££s as well.

 

[samhocking]

assuming he was smart about his finances, ok I know thats an oxymoron given the circumstances, but the earned money would have gone to the LTD company account, and then simply paid monies to him as when it was needed, as that would minimise the tax, and limit his personal liabilities to it when they went bankrupt.

and the creditors cant chase him or attempt to seize his own personal possessions for collateral, certainly not ones the company didnt acquire for him, because they arent owned by the company.

fwiw I think the value of the medals and trophies is 0 anyway, as Im sure Ive read before athletes struggle to insure them for theft as theyre essentially priceless one offs that you cant buy or replace and so they have no intrinsic monetary value, they might make money in an open auction, but i dont think you can put them on a balance sheet that way.

be interesting to know where the money for his recent audience with shows went, as it wasnt just ticket revenues, they were doing meet&greets,signings/selfies for considerable £££s as well.

Yep, The Times article makes that clear "this in no way affects Bradley’s personal solvency"

Daily Fail have obviously worded it to sound like it's personal bankruptcy when it seems it primarily an issue of his management company looking after the Wiggins brand of bikes, events etc iirc.

 

[Wyndbrook]

I'm sure you are both right, but when the situation became public in 2020 there were comments around company loans secured against property owned by Bradley and his wife.
But I think there were three separate Wiggins associated companies concerned. One is in liquidation, one dissolved and one active were he is no longer a director.

 

[awavey]

I'm sure you are both right, but when the situation became public in 2020 there were comments around company loans secured against property owned by Bradley and his wife.
But I think there were three separate Wiggins associated companies concerned. One is in liquidation, one dissolved and one active were he is no longer a director.

the Times story appears to be saying Wiggins is personally declared bankrupt now, which means assets he owns can be sold to pay his debts, I still argue medals&trophies arent assets as they have no monetary value

but where the threads cross in terms of debts he then personally owes to the liquidated company as part of some directors loan he took out of it which maybe tied up in property, I dont know the detail well enough to say confidently what the situation or resolution would be.

 

[Rob5091]

Things not looking good for Sir Wiggo -

https://progresnews.com/news/sir-br...-after-burning-through-13-million-and/116882/

‘In reality, Brad is sofa-surfing. He stays with friends and family. I don’t know where he stayed last night, I don’t know where he will stay tonight or tomorrow night. He doesn’t have an address.’ In other words, he’s basically homeless.

 

[Rob5091]

Ex-wife must put home up for sale to pay off debts ...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/28670515/bankrupt-bradley-wiggins-at-limit-reveals-ex-wife/

and the tale of a VW camper van in Manchester...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/28580537/bradley-wiggins-trashes-campervan-bankruptcy/

Life for Sir Brad is not a happy one at the moment. Hope he can ditch the booze and get his life back on track.
(if Ullrich can do it, so can Sir Brad)

 

[Unchained]

Ex-wife must put home up for sale to pay off debts ...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/28670515/bankrupt-bradley-wiggins-at-limit-reveals-ex-wife/

and the tale of a VW camper van in Manchester...
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/28580537/bradley-wiggins-trashes-campervan-bankruptcy/

Life for Sir Brad is not a happy one at the moment. Hope he can ditch the booze and get his life back on track.
(if Ullrich can do it, so can Sir Brad)

Both of those pieces are heartbreaking. And it's sounds like he may have already ditched his medals and memorabilia and sounds like jerseys of significance, like TDF. And his ex wife not kicking him while he is down is a class move. Don't know what it looks like for him to live in the limelight, going to be tough

 

[awavey]

Both of those pieces are heartbreaking. And it's sounds like he may have already ditched his medals and memorabilia and sounds like jerseys of significance, like TDF. And his ex wife not kicking him while he is down is a class move. Don't know what it looks like for him to live in the limelight, going to be tough

I dont know that he's ditched them yet, I just think you have to understand Brads attitude towards them is he doesnt care about them at all, because they dont have any real meaning to them, if they ever did Im not sure, but the way he talks about 2012 now, he actually sees them as a curse, because thats when the success, the fame, the money got too much for him to cope with and the resulting pressure it brought on him and his family, that he was in no way prepared for or able to handle.

and the situation he is in now, is largely the culmination of that process which started in 2012 when he felt he was no longer in control.

 

[veganrob]

I dont know that he's ditched them yet, I just think you have to understand Brads attitude towards them is he doesnt care about them at all, because they dont have any real meaning to them, if they ever did Im not sure, but the way he talks about 2012 now, he actually sees them as a curse, because thats when the success, the fame, the money got too much for him to cope with and the resulting pressure it brought on him and his family, that he was in no way prepared for or able to handle.

and the situation he is in now, is largely the culmination of that process which started in 2012 when he felt he was no longer in control.

When he was needing help there was none coming from Team Sky. Brailsfraud used him and spit him out.

 

[AnotherArmChair]

We dont know what Sky or others may havbe tried to do for Wiggo. Its clear his ex wife still loves him but he is probably very difficult to help esp if he is drinking and on a self destructive trail

I hope he finds away to turn his life around and stop drinking

As for Brads attitude towards his medals ...its not about monetary value ...its about achievement not brining him lasting happiness

 

[awavey]

When he was needing help there was none coming from Team Sky. Brailsfraud used him and spit him out.

well they were still in thrall to the old school method of "tough love" coaching back then, and very happy to spit riders out who didnt respond to it. though theyll always claim the help was there, via the likes of Steve Peters, but Brad never took up the option.

of course someone with an eye on wellbeing should have recognised the signs and provided the help without being prompted or asked, but as I say, they were old school back then.

as Laura Kenny highlighted with an odd quote this last week I think came from a podcast interview she did, but odd in that it seemed to come completely unprompted, and serve no real purpose as a story as she's retired already so has no reason to go back and start digging up stuff from 12 years ago, but it was about how the culture on the track team back in 2012 when Brailsford was still both BC and Team Sky head, was "savage abuse" between riders & effectively team mates, and thats let alone how the coaches actually spoke and treated the riders too.

 

[awavey]

We dont know what Sky or others may havbe tried to do for Wiggo. Its clear his ex wife still loves him but he is probably very difficult to help esp if he is drinking and on a self destructive trail

I hope he finds away to turn his life around and stop drinking

As for Brads attitude towards his medals ...its not about monetary value ...its about achievement not brining him lasting happiness

I think its his overall personality that makes him very difficult to help even for his friends and family, I dont think its the drinking anymore.

 

[ManicJack]

When he was needing help there was none coming from Team Sky. Brailsfraud used him and spit him out.

As a 48 yr old that has been a contract worker since I was 20, including in the world of bike racing, what do they owe him?

 

[veganrob]

As a 48 yr old that has been a contract worker since I was 20, including in the world of bike racing, what do they owe him?

He was fragile even back then. Bad childhood. Not all people are the same. Maybe you could have overcome all the things that he could not. Don't condemn them.

 

[ManicJack]

He was fragile even back then. Bad childhood. Not all people are the same. Maybe you could have overcome all the things that he could not. Don't condemn them.

Condemn them? If you mean condemn him, how did I do so?

 

[Rob5091]

As a 48 yr old that has been a contract worker since I was 20, including in the world of bike racing, what do they owe him?

British Cycling, Sky/Ineos and all the companies that made a living off the rise in popularity of cycling in the UK, I would say owe Wiggins at least some concern for his well being.

 

[ManicJack]

British Cycling, Sky/Ineos and all the companies that made a living off the rise in popularity of cycling in the UK, I would say owe Wiggins at least some concern for his well being.

Who said that any of those entities aren't concerned? What else do you propose he is owed? He made millions and made bad decisions. That's on him. If he was wronged by individuals or entities there is recourse for that.

 

[Unchained]

As a 48 yr old that has been a contract worker since I was 20, including in the world of bike racing, what do they owe him?

It's just a filter, a perspective. Becoming a multi millionaire, fame and praise from around the world for being an elite athlete. I am not going to accept the angle that he is a victim. I know people with money that enables them not to work, ever, and enough that dozens around them don't need to work, know others who are dirt poor, all have battles with drugs,alcohol and depression. Wiggins is hardly a victim.
Show me a guy who can't handle fame and fortune, crashes and burns, I will show you 100,000 men that crashed and burned on a borrowed dollar.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

I prefer a belligerent Brad
over a dull Blythe
anyday
on the back of the moto.

 

[samhocking]

Who said that any of those entities aren't concerned? What else do you propose he is owed? He made millions and made bad decisions. That's on him. If he was wronged by individuals or entities there is recourse for that.

To be fair, when you got £13M as a full-time sportsman you don't make any financial decisions yourself or invest yourself. All of that side of his career was managed through his sports management agency who's boss was also iirc running Wiggins LTD for him too and the accounts where the financial issues seem to be stemming from. As he said, they left a pile of *** with his name on it to clear up although I'm not sure how much to believe the papers or even his lawyer. Clearly Cath is divorced but her part of the loan will be tied to the house re. creditors, whereas Wiggin's Lawyer says he already sold his medals, house in Mallorca and Lancashire, yet he still owes ~£1M doesn't really add up unless there's a whole other side to Wiggins LTD not yet been told.