Daniel John Bigham (born 2 October 1991) is a British aerodynamics engineer and former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

, who has predominantly competed successfully in individual and team endurance track events, winning gold medals at national, European and world championships.

Racing career

Bigham won his first national track cycling titles in 2017, in the team pursuit, individual pursuit and kilometre time trial disciplines, also helping Great Britain to UCI World Cup victories in the team pursuit in 2017 and 2018. He won further track medals at the national level in 2019 and 2020, and in 2021 broke the UK men's

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

(see below). Also in 2021 and again in 2022, he took silver on the road in the men's individual time trial. At the 2022 British National Track Championships in Newport, Wales he won another British title, winning the

individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

. Bigham rode for

UCI Continental team +Men Teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who a ...

from 2018 until 2021. He then gained national attention being the figurehead of the Huub-Wattbike trade team. Despite their lack of budget and operating outside the

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

set-up, they achieved great success on the track, winning UCI World Cup events and bringing a variety of technical and strategic innovations to the

team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

, before changes were made to trade team eligibility rules. Since 2022, he has worked for

Ineos Grenadiers Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the Manchester Velo ...

as a performance engineer, helping the team's riders improve their aerodynamic performance. Alongside Charlie Tanfield,

Ethan Vernon Ethan Vernon (born 26 August 2000) is a British Road bicycle racing, road and Track cycling, track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Career Vernon competed in BMX until he was 14, before changing focus to the road an ...

and Oliver Wood, Bigham won silver in the

at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. Following success in the team pursuit, Bigham has also competed in the

at several international championships, winning silvers at the

2023 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2023 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held from 3 to 9 August 2023, at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, United Kingdom. It was the 120th edition of the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and was being held as part of the ...

and 2023 UEC European Track Championships, and then a gold at the 2024 UEC Championships, where, with

Ethan Hayter Ethan Edward Hayter (born 18 September 1998) is a British Road bicycle racing, road and Track cycling, track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Hayter started riding at Herne Hill Velodrome in 2012, aged 13. He raced for the ...

, Vernon and Tanfield, he also won a team pursuit gold. He has regularly raced against his

team-mate Fillipo Ganna, most notably during their

attempts and at the 2023 UCI Track World Championships. In early August, Bigham shared that he would be leaving Ineos Grenadiers once the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

were over, having reportedly become disillusioned with the team's setup under new management. In September, it was announced that he would be retiring from competitive cycling to focus on a new role as Head of Engineering at . His last event racing for Great Britain was the 2024 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in October, held in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. He took bronze in the

, where he raced against long-time teammate and competitor Charlie Tanfield.

Hour record

On 1 October 2021, Bigham rode at the

Tissot Velodrome The Velodrome Suisse is an indoor velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. The hall covers an area of 8000 square meters and has a capacity for 1800 spectators. The velodrome itself is meters long, made of Siberian spruce wood and is applied accordin ...

Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...

, Switzerland to break

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...

's British national

. He was ineligible to attempt the UCI record because he was not enrolled in the UCI's Registered Testing Pool anti-doping system, including a

biological passport An athlete biological passport is an individual electronic record for professional athletes, in which profiles of biological markers of doping and results of doping tests are collated over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected by ...

. While all World Tour riders and ProTeam riders are in the testing pool, Bigham estimated it would cost him £8,000 to join as an individual. On 19 August 2022, Bigham broke the

with a distance of 55.548 km at the

Velodrome Suisse The Velodrome Suisse is an indoor velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. The hall covers an area of 8000 square meters and has a capacity for 1800 spectators. The velodrome itself is meters long, made of Siberian spruce wood and is applied accord ...

in Grenchen. Bigham held the record for just shy of two months; Filippo Ganna registered 56.792 km in October 2022, surpassing Bigham's mark by more than 1 km. Bigham was a central part of the team in Ganna's attempt, using the engineering knowledge he had developed in his own record to aid Ganna. Ganna and Bigham met in the final of the individual pursuit at the

, with Ganna edging Bigham for gold by a fraction of a second.

Personal life

Bigham studied motorsport engineering at

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

. Bigham is married to fellow cyclist Joss Lowden, former holder of the women's hour record. In 2023, they welcomed their first child. As of 2024, they reside in Andorra.

Major results

Road

;2016 : 3rd Beaumont Trophy ;2019 : 3rd Bronze medal uci

Team relay,

UCI World Championships The UCI World Championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winn ...

: 4th Beaumont Trophy : 5th

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Championships ;2021 : 2nd

, National Championships ;2022 : 2nd

, National Championships

Track

;2017 :

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

::1st

Individual pursuit The individual pursuit is a track cycling event where two cyclists begin the race from a stationary position on opposite sides of the track. It is held at over for men and women. The riders start at the same time and set off to complete the rac ...

::1st

Kilo Kilo may refer to: *kilo- (k-), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 103 *Kilogram (kg), a metric unit of mass Music *Kilo, a funk/R&B band from Bloomington/Indianapolis/Indiana *KILO, a Colorado radio station *''El Kilo'', a 2005 album by th ...

::1st

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

: 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup,

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

;2018 : 1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

: 2nd

;2019 :

::1st

::2nd

;2020 :

::1st

::2nd Kilo ::3rd

;2021 : British

: 54.723 km ;2022 :

Hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

55.548 km : 1st Jersey rainbow

: 1st

: 2nd

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

;2023 : 1st Team pursuit, UCI Nations Cup, Milton : UEC European Championships ::2nd Silver medal europe

::2nd

: 2nd

;2024 : UEC European Championships ::1st European champion jersey 2016

::1st

: 1st Team pursuit, UCI Nations Cup, Milton : 2nd Silver medal olympic

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 3rd

References

External links

* * *
Dan Bigham
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigham, Daniel 1991 births Living people English male cyclists British male cyclists Sportspeople from Newcastle-under-Lyme Cyclists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medalists in cycling English track cyclists British track cyclists Olympic cyclists for Great Britain 21st-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in cycling