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Sir Bradley Wiggins is preparing to enter a rehabilitation facility for trauma counselling. Following his retirement from cycling in December 2016, the Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic gold medallist has battled with substance abuse . He's previously been candid about his health struggles, acknowledging he had become a 'functioning addict'. In a recent interview with The Times , Wiggins disclosed how his children, Isabella and Ben, who are both involved in the British Cycling set-up, had previously attempted to get him help after becoming worried . In June 2024, the 45-year-old, who had allegedly accumulated a £13m fortune during the height of his career, also declared bankruptcy. A company owned by Wiggins was reported to have debts totalling approximately £1m . During an appearance at the Barbican in York on Wednesday, the former cyclist disclosed that he will be travelling to the United States to attend a specialist clinic, with Lance Armstrong covering the costs. "I still speak to him and see him," said Wiggins, as quoted by The Sun . "I'm off to America on Friday. He's paid for me to go and see a top trauma counselling clinic in Utah, so I'm looking forward to that." The Brit developed a friendship with Armstrong prior to his retirement, having raced in the same competitions throughout their careers . Wiggins added: "He's offered me a role back in cycling, a platform which doesn't involve me getting on a bike." Last year, Armstrong enlisted Wiggins to provide coverage of the Tour de France on 'The Move' podcast. The duo collaborated throughout the summer, amassing thousands of views on YouTube and Apple Podcasts . The American was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France yellow jerseys after confessing to using performance-enhancing drugs. Despite this, Wiggins has always held Armstrong in high regard. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live during the summer, Wiggins said: "He's been a great strength to me and a great inspiration to me, and it's on a human level. Lance has been very, very good to me. "That's not something everyone wants to hear because people only like to hear the bad stuff. You can only take someone how they treat you and Lance has been a source of inspiration to me and a constant source of help towards me and is one of the main factors why I'm in this position I am today mentally and physically, so, I'm indebted to him for that." During his chat with the BBC , Wiggins admitted that he wishes he had opened up earlier. He said: "We are all humans at the end of the day, and it is a human story, and I've had lots of events in my life that informed the problems I had in my life post-cycling. "I'd never had therapy or counselling during my time as a cyclist because you're perceived as a cyclist - or certainly when you're an Olympic champion or the Tour de France winner - to be incredibly mentally strong." Wiggins, who clinched Olympic gold in 2004, 2008 and 2016, also triumphed in the road time trial at the London 2012 Olympics, a mere fortnight after his Tour de France victory. "I was one for not taking on help as well or asking for help," the Briton confessed. "I'm never going to make the same mistake twice, so I've sort of vowed that to myself. I've learned from the past. "I'm coming up to 10 years to retirement and I knew nothing else other than cycling really, and having everything done for you on a daily basis. "It took me a long time to adapt to normal life, as it were, and all the things that contribute to keeping me in a steady place."
