Bradley Wiggins: How close have you come to dying? — FLAPSS

The question

How close have you come to dying?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

BW

Bradley Wiggins

British former professional road and track racing cyclist

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I had quite a chequered childhood. I had a knife put to my throat once when I was a kid, which was very scary.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

View all 209 →

Sue Perkins British actress, singer, writer and comedian

Anna dared me to jump off a cliff in Menorca on holiday a couple of years ago. I did. I fell 30m through the air, hit the water at an odd angle and shattered my coccyx.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 October 2018 source ↗

Eleanor Tomlinson English actress

A horse-riding accident when I was about 15.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 May 2024 source ↗

A running accident when I was 14 or 15. I fainted but I was a bit of a jester and they thought I was taking the piss, so I was left for a bit. I woke up in hospital.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 May 2026 source ↗

Sandy Powell British costume designer

When I rode on the back of a motorbike from London to Rome with my eyes closed the entire way.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 September 2019 source ↗

More from Bradley Wiggins

View profile →

Question How would you want people to remember you? Death & what remains

As an honest person who did his best.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Question How would you describe what love feels like to you? Relationships

Loss of control.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Question Excluding property, what is the most expensive thing you have ever bought? Money & investment

I bought a pink leader’s jersey from the 1953 Tour of Italy which belonged to Swiss rider Hugo Koblet. I spent £45,000.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Question What one change would most improve the quality of your daily life? Daily life

This isn’t a complaint, but obscurity would be nice. You can’t have a bad day in public because everyone’s got phones.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Question What is the worst job you have ever had? Craft & work

I’ve never had a job.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

Question What disappointment has stayed with you longest? Failure & regret

Never going back to the Tour de France and trying to win again.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 September 2019 source ↗

More on death & what remains

Also answered this

Chris Hoy, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Bonington, Adam Peaty, Simone Biles, Judy Murray

Search the directory for somebody in particular.

Explore further

All death & what remains questions
The The Q&A questionnaire — 25 questions from the same format
Explore the archive — by field, age, era, and subject

Report this answer