CYCLING legend Sir Bradley Wiggins is back in the saddle after three long years away.
The eight-time Olympic medallist took part in a 50-mile charity ride this weekend in Staffordshire.
Wiggins retired from competitive cycling in 2016 after becoming a household name at London 2012.
He has won five Olympic golds over his illustrious track career, before switching to road racing.
Wiggins was the first Briton to win the Tour de France, but admitted he had "fallen out of love" with the sport in recent years.
The 44-year-old deliberately "isolated himself from the world" as his mental health began to deteriorate.
He associated "bad things" and "childhood traumas" with cycling, last getting into the saddle in 2021.
Wiggins was declared bankrupt in June this year after his debts ballooned to nearly £1million.
He was once worth an estimated £13m.
He also went public about vile sexual abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of an elderly cycling coach.
Wiggins claims to be in a "good place now" and joined 80 other cyclists at Saturday's Project Pau event.
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He told : "It's been nice to remember just how many friends I've got in this sport.
"I blamed cycling for a long time. I don't see it like that any more.
"Cycling has been a big part of my life and it still is to this day.
"With having that break from cycling the last few years, I kind of feel like it's a second coming, from a cycling point of view."
Wiggins led the peloton on a ride around Stafford, starting at Sandon Hall.
He added: "[It's nice] being able to let go of the past and the elite side of the sport and really see it for the social element of it."
Wiggins later met members of the public in a meet-and-greet at nearby Trentham Shopping Village.
Posting to his 389,000 Instagram followers, Wiggins revealed his comeback after three long years.
Delighted fans were quick to wish him well, with many hoping it wouldn't be his last foray back onto the bike.
One wrote: "Once a legend, always a legend."
And another commented: "Wishing you a return to glory fella, in whatsoever form you wish for."
Wiggins endured a decade of hell after leaving cycling behind.
His marriage fell apart, leaving the two-time SPOTY winner divorced, homeless and reportedly sofa-surfing.
Wiggins' lawyer Alan Sellers said: "He has lost absolutely everything.
"His family home, his home in Majorca, his savings and investments. It's a very sad state of affairs."
