Team Wiggins Le Col (), also known as ''Team Wiggins'' in media, was a professional developmental

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

based in the United Kingdom, which began competing in elite

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

and

track cycling Track cycling is a Cycle sport, bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its i ...

in 2015. The team folded at the end of the 2019 season after completing the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

Team history

The team was founded by

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 ...

, after much speculation in the latter part of the 2014 road season, in order to better facilitate his return to the track as part of his preparations for the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. The team has a reported budget of £460,000 which is comparable to JLT–Condor and Madison-Genesis. According to ''

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is the world's oldest cycling publication. It is both a weekly cycling magazine and a news, features and buying advice website. It is published by Future plc, Future. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club c ...

'' the team's management comprises Robert Dodds (president of

XIX Entertainment XIX Entertainment is an entertainment content and intellectual rights organisation based in North America and Europe. The company, which has been valued at $100 million was set up by Simon Fuller in 2010 to commercially develop world class indivi ...

, and Wiggins's manager), Andrew McQuaid (rider agent and director of Trinity Sports Management) and Wiggins himself. The team appointed former DS Simon Cope as its first

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen as the equivalent to a field manager in baseball, or a head coach in football. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows t ...

. For the team's inaugural season the team began with eight full-time riders, with Wiggins joining on 1 May 2015. Those eight were

Steven Burke Steven James Burke (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded cycling team.

Mark Christian Mark Peter Christian (born 20 November 1990) is a Manx former racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI ProTeam . A former member of the Great Britain Olympic Development Program, Christian won a bronze medal for the Isle of Man at the 2010 Common ...

Jonathan Dibben Jonathan Mark Dibben (born 12 February 1994) is a British former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2015 and 2020, for the , , and teams. His older brother Peter Dibben is a British cycling champion on the track. He rode at the 2 ...

Owain Doull Owain Daniel Doull (born 2 May 1993) is a Welsh people, Welsh road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Doull specialises in the team pursuit on the track, and won a gold medal in the discipline at the Cycling at the 2016 S ...

, Daniel Patten, Iain Paton,

Andy Tennant Andrew Wellman Tennant (born June 15, 1955) is an American screenwriter, film and television director, actor, and dancer. Early life Tennant was born June 15, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb of Chicag ...

and Michael Thompson. These eight riders are supplemented by riders from the British Academy on a race to race basis. On 5 January 2015 the team was officially awarded its

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

licence. In March 2015, Bradley Wiggins confirmed that he would make his debut with the team at the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire at the start of May. In 2016, he entered the

Tour De Yorkshire The Tour de Yorkshire was a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It was promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and was rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tou ...

with his team and dropped out in the first stage. WIGGINS was not invited to the 2017 Tour de Yorkshire. In 2018 following the collapse of Team

Aqua Blue Sport Aqua Blue Sport was an Irish UCI Professional Continental cycling team founded in January 2017 which folded at the end of the 2018 season. History The team was set up by businessman Rick Delaney, assuring funding for at least four seasons with two ...

, Team Wiggins participated at short notice in the

2018 Tour of Britain Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2 ...

Tom Pidcock Thomas Pidcock (born 30 July 1999) is a British cyclist who competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport for the Swiss . Prior to his release in December 2024, he rode for UCI WorldTeam . After a p ...

was the team's highest placed rider in the race at 17th in the General Classification. In November 2018 the team filed paperwork with

Companies House Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...

which indicated that XIX Entertainment no longer held a 40 per cent stake in the team, and that this share had been transferred to Wiggins' firm, Wiggins Right Limited. In August 2019, Wiggins announced that the team would be closing down at the end of the year.

Sponsorship

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

was the team's original sponsor. The team's kit was initially produced by Rapha. but as of 2018 the team switched to use Le Col as their clothing supplier. In December 2018 Wiggins announced that Le Col would step up to becoming the team's co-title sponsor for 2019, with the team being known as Team Wiggins Le Col. The team used

Pinarello Cicli Pinarello S.p.A. is an Italian bicycle manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy. Founded in 1953, it supplies mostly handmade bicycles for the Road bicycle racing, road, track cycling, track, E-bikes(NYTRO), mountain bikes and cyclo-cross. The ...

bikes equipped with Zipp, Fizik, Elite and SRAM components.

Final roster

Major wins

;2015 : Wiltshire GP,

: Stage 2

Flèche du Sud The Flèche du Sud, is a road bicycle race held annually in Luxembourg. It is currently organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 b ...

: Stages 3 & 4

: Round 6 – Barrow

Tour Series The Tour Series is an annual series of cycling criterium races held in the United Kingdom since 2009. It is televised by ITV4 in the UK. The competition emphasises team effort with individual wins deemed less important. The races are held over ...

, Christopher Lawless : Jersey blue

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points c ...

;2016 : Stage 3a (ITT)

Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux is a Belgian cycle sport, cycling Road bicycle racing, road race. It was first held in 1996. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour. List of winners ...

: Stage 4

Ronde de l'Isard The Ronde de l'Isard is a road bicycle race held annually in France. It is organized as a 2.2U event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union C ...

, Scott Davies : Stage 5

Olympia's Tour The Olympia's Tour is a cycling stage race held in the Netherlands. History A.S.C. Olympia was founded in Amsterdam on 27 November 1898. It ran one-day races but wanted a race through all the Netherlands. The first Olympia's Tour was in 1909, wi ...

Christopher Latham Christopher Jack Latham (born 6 February 1994) is an English cyclist from Bolton, who most recently rode for UCI Continental team . In 2015 he won the bronze medal in the elimination race at the 2015 UEC European Track Championships in Grenchen, ...

;2017 : Klondike Grand Prix,

;2018 :

Volta ao Alentejo The Volta ao Alentejo ( Portuguese; ) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Alentejo, Portugal. Since 2010, it has been organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ...

::Stages 1 & 6,

Gabriel Cullaigh Gabriel Rowan Cullaigh (born 8 April 1996) is a British professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2012 : 1st Youth race, National Criterium Championships ;2013 : 2nd Road race, National Junior ...

Youth Classification,

Mark Downey Mark Downey (born 3 July 1996) is an Irish road and track cyclist, who currently rides for French amateur team Côtes d'Armor–Marie Morin–Véranda Rideau. As a junior he competed at the 2014 UCI Road World Championships in the Men's juni ...

: Rutland–Melton International CiCLE Classic,

: Stage 2

Giro della Valle d'Aosta Tour of Valle d'Aosta / Mont-Blanc (; ) is a stage race road bicycle race held annually in August in Aosta Valley, Italy. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Since 2012, the race takes place in July. The conc ...

, Mark Donovan : Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux,

James Fouché James Fouché (born 28 March 1998) is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . In 2019 Fouche won the combined under-23 and elite New Zealand National Road Race Championships. Career Amateur years Fouché ...

;2019 :

Tour of Antalya The Tour of Antalya is a multi-day road cycling race held annually in Turkey. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Intern ...

Mountain classification,

::Intermediate sprints classification,

::Stage 3,

Mountains classification,

Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux Triptyque may refer to: * Triptyque Ardennais, road cycling race held since 1959 in Belgium * Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux Le Triptyque des Monts et Châteaux is a Belgian cycle sport, cycling Road bicycle racing, road race. It was first ...

Points classification,

Thomas Pidcock Thomas Pidcock (born 30 July 1999) is a British cyclist who competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport for the Swiss . Prior to his release in December 2024, he rode for UCI WorldTeam . After a p ...

::Stage 2b,

Paris–Roubaix Espoirs Paris–Roubaix Espoirs is a one-day road cycling race held annually in France. In 2005 the race was integrated into the UCI Europe Tour as a category 1.2U race. Held since 1967, it is the under-23 version of the Monument classic Paris–Roubaix ...

Overall

Tour Alsace The Tour Alsace (or Tour d'Alsace) is a five-day road bicycle race held annually in Alsace, France. It was first held in 2004 and it is a 2.2 rated event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing co ...

Young rider classification,

::Stage 2,

National, continental and world champions

;2015 :

British U23 Road Race,

British Track (Individual pursuit),

UEC European Track (Team pursuit)

;2016 :

World Track (Points race),

World Track (Madison),

British U23 Time Trial, Scott Davies : Gold 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 ...

(

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 ...

Steven Burke Steven James Burke (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded cycling team.

(

Team Sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The riders use a ...

), Philip Hindes ;2017 : MaillotReinoUnido

British U23 Time Trial, Scott Davies ;2018 : MaillotReinoUnido

British U23 Road Race, Robert Scott : New Zealand U23 Road Race,

Irish U23 Time Trial,

Michael O'Loughlin Michael Kevin O'Loughlin (born 20 February 1977) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played his entire Australian Football League career with the Sydney Swans. O'Loughlin was named a member of the Indigenous Team of the ...

;2019 : New Zealand Road Race,

: New Zealand U23 Road Race,

: New Zealand U23 Time Trial,

Irish U23 Time Trial,

References

External links

{{official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20230307131722/https://www.teamwiggins.co/ Cycling teams based in the United Kingdom UCI Continental Teams (Europe) Cycling teams established in 2015 2015 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct cycling teams based in the United Kingdom Cycling teams disestablished in 2019 2019 disestablishments in the United Kingdom