My Time Audiobook (Unabridged)

On 22 July 2012 Bradley Wiggins became the first British man ever to win the Tour de France. In an instant, 'Wiggo' became a national hero. Ten days later, having swapped his yellow jersey for the colours of Team GB, he won Olympic gold in the time trial, adding to his previous six medals to become the nation's most decorated Olympian of all time. Outspoken, honest, intelligent and fearless, Wiggins has been hailed as the people's champion.

In My Time he tells the story of the remarkable journey that led to him winning the world's toughest race. He opens up about his life on and off the bike, about the personal anguish that has driven him on and what it's like behind the scenes at Team Sky: the brutal training regimes, the sacrifices and his views on his teammates and rivals. He talks too about his anger at the spectre of doping that pursues his sport, how he dealt with the rush of taking Olympic gold, and above all what it takes to be the greatest.

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"What I found most interesting about 'My Time' was Bradley's take on doping and drugs in cycling, particularly given the fact that I have recently read Tyler Hamilton's compelling autobiography and followed the whole Lance Armstrong implosion of the past few years. At various points in the book, he reprimands the (hopefully) 1990's-early 2000's trend of 'not normal' cycling, as Lance would probably put it. The most interesting part of the novel, possibly discounting the recounting of the Bonneval-Chartres time trial, is his take on Armstrong's drug taking. His anger stems mostly from the fact that not only was he robbed of a podium spot by Lance in '09 but also how, as the wearer of the yellow jersey now, Wiggins is left to field all the questions from the media and critics about the widespread doping prevalent in cycling for the past two decades even though, as Wiggins elaborates, he has never doped. Not many who have possibly seen the interview during the Tour on Youtube where doping is insinuated by a journalist to Wiggins would be unsure as to what his views would be on the matter: "We are the ones here, in this sport, right now, who have to pick up the pieces. We are the ones trying to race our bikes, the ones sitting there in front of the press trying to convince them of our innocence, continuing to do things in the right way; they've trashed the office and left; we're the ones trying to tidy it all up" (190). As Wiggins moves on to tell the story of the 2012 London Olympic Games, in the weeks succeeding the end of the Tour, even Alexander Vinokourov fails to escape his wrath. "As the gold medal was presented to Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan - he of the blood-doping positive from 2007 - we sat in the tents in the pits for an hour after the finish with our skinsuits unzipped" (271). Wiggins' contempt for dopers in the sport is highlighted again. After the accomplishment of winning the 2012 Olympic Road Race, Vinokourov's success is undercut by Wiggins as the Kazakh cyclist's previous transgression of doping is noted, even though it was five years previous. In Wiggins' eyes, Vinokourov is one of the minority who have "trashed the office" with the rest, including himself, left "trying to tidy it all up". Perhaps Wiggins believes that Cavendish was more deserving of the gold medal and that the Manx cyclist would possibly have triumphed it if the race had of gone more to plan. Outside of the whole doping issue, the book is still a worthwhile read and truly inspiring story of the most successful year for British cycling even if, at times, it seems to chronologically leap almost incomprehensibly from pillar to post."

— Philip (4 out of 5 stars)