Gary
Wiggins - Nobody messed with 'the Doc'
Sunday 4th February, 2008
by Ed Hood
The tall, raw-boned rider ambled across to the
barrier; he was broad and square across the shoulders, big-thighed
and walked with a loose-limbed gait.
His long legs made easy work of straddling the
steel fence which separated the riders' enclosure from the paying
public at the Gent six, back in the early 80's.
As he headed-off to his cabin, a mechanic looked-up
from the already-gleaming machine he was polishing and gave a cheerful;
'Hi Gary!'
The rider said nothing, but acknowledged the greeting with an 'energy-saver'
nod.
My buddy, Fraser who was staying in Gent at the
time, explained the dynamic to me; "that's Sercu's (Patrick
Sercu, undisputed king of the sixes, with 88 wins) personal mechanic,
he speaks to no one, he thinks he's superior to everyone, he always
talks to Gary though - 'nobody messes with The Doc!"
'Nobody messes with The Doc!'
I've carried those words in my head for more than
20 years, I always wanted to put them in print, but not under these
circumstances; on Friday January 25th 2008 Gary Wiggins died, the
local Newcastle Herald reported it thus:
Mystery surrounds the death of a man, 55, found
unconscious in a street at the beginning of a violent Australia Day
weekend in the Hunter. Police have formed Strike Force Durbin to investigate
the circumstances that led to the man's death.
He was found in Segenhoe Street, Aberdeen, about
7am on Friday.
The man, from Muswellbrook, was taken to Muswellbrook Hospital then
flown to John Hunter Hospital, where he died.
Hunter Valley police could neither confirm nor
deny whether the man had been bashed. A NSW Police spokesman said
the death was being treated as suspicious. So ended the life of a
man who was one of the top-ten ranked six-day riders of his era.
Gary Wiggins, father of the current Olympic pursuit
champion, Bradley Wiggins rode 73 sixes in his career, including a
win at Bremen in 1985 with Britain's Tony Doyle. The big man from
Yallourn in Tasmania also picked-up the European Madison Championships
that same season, again with the Englishman.
The madison champs was always hotly contested;
wearing the jersey which went with the title guaranteed the winners
better contract fees from six day promoters. The cycling club that
Wiggins raced-for back in his junior days, Latrobe CC ends its tribute
to him on their website with the words; "He may not of (sic)
been a superb role model but he was a talented professional cyclist."
Even in death, Wiggins is controversial; a friend
of mine tried to raise a "thread" on a popular British internet
cycling forum, but the moderator withdrew it; "so as not to upset
his family." "His family" is, of course his son, triple
Olympic cycling medallist, Bradley Wiggins.
When Wiggins senior ended his career in the mid-80's;
abandoning Belgium (with the tax-man snapping at his heels) and heading-back
to the other side of the globe, he left his wife, Linda and young
Bradley to return to London. The Latrobe CC website comments; "A
decision that Society and his son have judged over the years."
A few years ago, when I first started to write
about cycling, I suggested to my editor that I do a piece about Gary
Wiggin's career. The reply was along the lines that Bradley didn't
like to talk about his dad or see stuff like that in print, so best
not stir any slumbering canines.
An article in the Australian 'Herald' newspaper
quotes Wiggin's sister who explains that whilst Gary may have been
estranged from his boy, she found several scrap books of cuttings
about Bradley, when she was going-through her brother's personnal
effects; he was certainly proud of his son, even if he didn't shout
about it - but that was never his style.
On those wonderful (or sad, depending on your point
of view) Belgian web sites which list the teams and palmares of every
pro bike rider in the history of the world, there's usually a reference
to the, 'rider's nickname,' World Champion Paolo Bettini is, 'Grillo'
- 'cricket,' for instance.
However, there's no reference to Wiggin's nickname,
"The Doc," - we'll let you work that one out for yourself.
When you speak to those that knew him, there are different Gary Wiggins
to consider.
Wiggins, the laid-back Aussie
His frequent six-day partner, and a man whose life
we've looked at in the past on VeloResults
- Maurice
Burton - told us about the man with whom he'd exchanged many-a-handsling.
"Gary came over to London in 1974 to
ride for the Archer Road Club, which was my club, we were sponsored
by Cutty Sark whisky; they brought the Aussies over because they always
rode well on the track; at that time there was a lot of good track
racing in the city, at Herne Hill and Paddington.
"Gary and Dave Sanders, another Aussie,
came over to ride for the Archer. The three us were going up to Manchester
to ride a meeting at Fallowfield track. Gary and Sanders had this
old Thames van that they had bought for ten pounds, they splattered
the number plates with mud, so the thing couldn't be identified.
"The door locks didn't work and you had
to sit, holding the doors shut as you drove along the motorway! When
they arrived to pick me up, they didn't have any shoes on; it was
an Aussie thing, if the weather was nice then they didn't bother with
shoes. When my dad saw them and this old van, he thought; 'what's
this he's got himself into now?"
Wiggins, the man not to cross
There was a darker side to the man though; Wiggins
wasn't a man for threats, usually the first sign you had over-stepped
the mark was one of those huge fists connecting with your face.
My buddy Fraser recalls a time when Wiggins' regular
training partner, New Zealander John Mullan said the wrong thing whilst
they were out on a training run, despite abandoning his bike and heading
into the fields, 'Mull' couldn't escape The Doc, who pursued him into
the pasture land to administer his reprimand.
Fraser recalls another time when he was Wiggins
'helper' at a big madison in Germany; "I was standing beside
the track when I heard a 'bang' and I thought to myself, 'no - please,
no !' but it was 'yes!' his partner, a German rider had punctured
and it was down to me to change the wheel - Gary wouldn't pay for
a real mechanic, you see.
A couple of the officials got my rider down of
the track and I realised that it was the rear tyre which had punctured
and you only get three laps to change the wheel.
Wiggins and his partner were lying second so there
was big prize money at stake; as I wrestled with the wheel, I could
feel Wiggins eyes burning into the back of my head from the top of
the banking.
I pushed the rider back into the race, but as I
did that I was planning my escape route out of the stadium in case
his chain came-off. If it had, Wiggins would have killed me, so I
was just going to flee and get the train back to Belgium!"
Wiggins, the generous and loyal friend
But the six day game was not, and is not, for
the faint-hearted, as Maurice said; "the business we were
in - you had to be a little bit hard sometimes and Gary could be ruthless."
Dirk Van Hove knew Wiggins better than most and
spent much of his spare time, during Wiggins career, accompanying
the big Aussie to races; "Gary was a generous person, when
I was made reduntant, he would come over to my house and say, 'come-on,
don't worry about money, we'll go for a meal and a beer - I'll pay!'
If you were in a tricky situation, he would
stand in front of you and take the punch, I know this 100%! He didn't
say much and perhaps didn't come across well, but he was a smart guy,
he's seen a lot of the world and of life; when he'd had a few beers
and was relaxed then he'd talk a lot more, he was a very smart guy,
it's just a pity people didn't see that side of him.
If you were his friend, you were his friend for life."
But what sort of a bike rider was he?
Maurice says; "he was very strong, and
he had a constitution to match - a hard guy."
Dirk is more effusive; "He was one of
the strongest riders I've ever seen, aggresive and always wanting
to win. He didn't always have the best partners in the sixes,
when he was with Doyle they won the European madison championships.
He could also win Belgian pro kermesses, and as anyone who knows will
tell you, that's not easy! "
Barry Hoban was one of the finest sprinters of
his generation, and he couldn't win one. The stats don't get emotionally
involved; season 80/81 saw Wiggins rated 49th on the six day circuit,
off three starts.
By 83/84 he was 7th off 13 starts; if you observe
that Hans Henrik Oersted was 8th, Tony Doyle 9th and Urs Freuler 10th
- world champions all, then you realise the level the man was at.
In 84/85 he was 8th in the rankings, again off
13 finishes. 85/86 saw him 11th off 10 starts, but in 86/87 he was
a distant 53rd off 7 starts and the end was nigh.
As a road rider, the sport never saw the best of
Gary Wiggins; his road programme was designed to prepare him for the
lucrative six day season.
But he earned good money in those kermesses, consistently finishing
among the prizes.
The last years of Wiggins' life weren't the best
for him, he worked as a window cleaner, a bike mechanic, in a garage,
as a painter and decorator, in a super market; and whilst he'd always
'liked a beer,' his drinking had perhaps gone a little beyond that.
Wiggins' 'glory days' weren't well reported back
in the Antipodes in those pre-'net days and the lack of recognition
was a source of irritation to him.
Dirk recalls; "when I went to visit him in Australia, after he
retired, we'd walk into a bar and he'd point at some of his drinking
buddies and say to me, 'tell these guys about what I was like, back
in Europe!' none of them knew that he'd been such a good rider and
had won a European title.'
And final words?
Maurice; "He used to say to guys, 'just
because you've got a head like a spark plug, it doesn't mean you're
a champion!' that used to make me laugh. Seriously though, a man that
did what he had to do, to get where he wanted to be."
Dirk; "Maybe he liked the girls and the
beer a bit too much, I sometimes wonder what he could have done if
he'd looked-after himself just a little bit more - but he was a great
guy, a great rider and a great friend."
Gary Wiggins, 1952 - 2008. Angel? Hardly. Role
model? Never.
Legend? Absolutely.
