WIGGINS rider profiles
A closer look at the other eight men on the roster
By Matt Westby
Last Updated: 08/01/15 11:48am
Sir Bradley Wiggins will undoubtedly be the star of WIGGINS when he joins them in May, but the other eight riders will all have pivotal roles to play.
Here’s a closer look at each of them...
Steven Burke
Nationality: British.
Age: 26.
Specialism: Team pursuit on the track.
Burke was part of the British quartet that won gold and broke the world record at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He is also a world and three-time European team pursuit champion, finished third in the individual pursuit at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and rode alongside Wiggins in the England team that won team pursuit silver at last summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, so he has excellent track pedigree, but less so on the road.
Mark Christian
Nationality: British.
Age: 24.
Specialism: All-rounder.
An Isle of Man native who won two gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in London last month, in the team pursuit and then the Madison. He was also in the team pursuit squad that won silver at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, in November. He is a former Commonwealth points race bronze medallist and has spent the last two seasons on the road riding for Team Raleigh.
Jon Dibben
Nationality: British.
Age: 20.
Specialism: All-rounder.
A promising all-rounder with pedigree on both the road and track, Dibben finished third in the Junior Paris-Roubaix in 2012 and was part of the British team that won the European team pursuit title in Guadeloupe last October, a meeting at which he also won silver in the omnium. He was also part of Britain’s silver medal-winning team at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, in November.
Owain Doull
Nationality: British.
Age: 21.
Specialism: All-rounder.
Another of Britain’s most promising young talents, Doull has won two European titles and two World Cup gold medals in the team pursuit on the track. He has also proven his versatility by winning World Cup gold medals in the scratch race and Madison in the past two years, while he also has pedigree on the road, having won the Belgian stage race Le Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux in Belgium.
Iain Paton
Nationality: British.
Age: 19.
Specialism: Mountain biking and cyclo-cross.
A mountain biker by trade and Scottish champion in both cross-country and cyclo-cross, Paton is a member of British Cycling’s Olympic Development Programme. Inexperienced on the road.
Daniel Patten
Nationality: British.
Age: 28.
Specialism: Road racing.
A former runner who started his bike racing career in the UK and has since competed all over the world for teams registered in Sweden, the United States and even the Philippines.
Andy Tennant
Nationality: British.
Age: 27.
Specialism: Team pursuit on the track.
Tennant has unfinished business with the team pursuit after being left out of Britain’s four-man squad for the 2012 Olympics. He is a world and four-time European team pursuit champion, won European gold in the individual pursuit last October, and was also part of England’s silver medal-winning quartet at the Commonwealth Games. He joins WIGGINS after spending the last two years on the road with Madison Genesis.
Michael Thompson
Nationality: British.
Age: 19.
Specialism: Mountain biking.
Another mountain biker and colleague of Paton’s on British Cycling’s Olympic Development Programme, he also has limited experience on the road. Thompson is a former junior national mountain bike champion and finished second in the national under-23s last year.
