Wiggins wins Hull Stage

There is that saying "You should never meet your heroes because you will always be disappointed".

I can see the sentiment behind that.

For all of their charismatic persona and the esteem in which they are held for their particular achievements they are, after all, just human beings like ourselves.

Of course they have earned that status by their own sacrifices and efforts, have had greatness thrust upon them or they have simply been in the right place at the right time.

In all cases, bar none, there is a unique driving force, be it borne out of adversity, deprivation or having a massive initial inferiority complex that propels mere mortals into history or the record books.

All of the above and more were spoken about by Bradley Wiggins in his nationwide tour and his stop off in my home city of Hull just last night.

There is a current trend of "Audiences with...." amongst sports personalities. It is a popular format with a couple of easy chairs or a sofa on a stage and with a big screen and a few bits or memorabilia in the background.

Although undoubtedly well planned and structured with a bit of steering by a Media accomplished compere the Wiggins Show was candid and honest.

He is a complex character indeed.

To a significant extent the level of dedication and focus required to attain what he has in Amateur and Professional Cycling has kept him more than occupied and it is only now, in his early retirement phase (aged 39) that he has the luxury of time for reflection, retrospection and soul searching.

A bright yellow Pinarello road bike on which he completed his Tour de France win in Paris in 2012 and a portable rail of lycra and woollen jerseys are mentioned but in an almost dismissive way.

Wiggins has been there, done that and come away with a lot of very nice T shirts- thank you but was insistent that such trappings and markers of success did not define him as a person.

I got the impression that unlike many former sports persons he would not bore you with anecdotes and "back in the day" recollections or be roped in by former employees to accompany and inform VIP' Guests, Sponsors and dignataries over wine and nibbles at the start/finish line of major Cycle Events.

His is an outlook going forward.

The Knighthood and the plastic carrier bag in which he transports his Olympic and World Championship Medals are mere tokens to him.

Their real value is in what they can do in facilitating public attention and resources for his current and future plans which may be as far away from the world of cycling as you can get.

His early life in a single parent family and growing up in the peer pressure cauldron of an inner city Council Estate in London could have so easily set him on a different path. A genetic predisposition to sport was there with a Pro-Rider father but negated until adolescence in his absence through abandonment at a very early age.

In the meantime demographics and social influences could have led to involvement in crime had it not been for Wiggins attachment to his own idols and influencers seen in rare televised cycling in the late 80's and early 1990's.

Getting out on his bike was an actual means of escape from Kilburn and with a funnelling of natural skill and talent through proper coaching Wiggins was soon in a development programme for British Cycling.

He was in the first wave of individuals whose natural talent benefited from the scientific, technical and marginal gains aspects of the sport of cycling, a much more world beating approach to the no-less epic endeavours of Simpson, Hoban, Denson and many Brits who made their living on the continent in what was an exclusively small enclave of English speakers in the Peleton of Grand Tours and One Day Classics in the post war years.

The 70's and 80's required individuals to make their own way in Europe often slumming it to get a place in the leading amateur squads and with only a select handful making the grade to wear a coveted trade team jersey amongst the big organisations.

These were the days before big money contracts and income from endorsing products.

Wiggins has a great and obvious affection and nostalgia for the sport hence his tremendous collection of memorabilia once worn by Coppi, Anquetil, Merkcx and those with whom he raced at the end of their own careers such as Sean Yates, Maurizio Fondriest and, yes, Lance Armstrong.

So what is Wiggins' legacy to be?

Well, his record will have inspired many to follow. The Wiggins Cycle Team, unfortunately now in its last season has propelled new talent into the sport. He is a well known face to the British public even those who have no interest in cycling.

Actually, we may not yet be able to fully appreciate this for quite a few years to come as he has big plans for himself but the difference being that he is fully in charge, for once, of his own time and destiny.