"I have been lucky enough to live a dream and fulfil my childhood aspiration of making a living and a career out of the sport I fell in love with at the age of 12,” Wiggins said, in a statement posted on his Facebook page.

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The 36-year-old won eight Olympic medals between 2000 and 2016, starting with a bronze in the Team Pursuit in Sydney and culminating with a gold in the same event at the Rio Games earlier this year.

A Tour de France triumph at London 2012 was the highlight of Wiggins' spectacular transition from the track to the road, and he followed up his triumph on the Champs-Elysees with a dominant victory in the Olympic time trial at Hampton Court just weeks later.

"I've met my idols and ridden with and alongside the best for 20 years," Wiggins added in his statement. "I have worked with the world’s best coaches and managers, who I will always be grateful to for their support.

What will stick with me forever is the support and love from the public through thick and thin, all as a result of riding a pushbike for a living. 2012 blew my mind and was a gas.

"Cycling has given me everything and I couldn't have done it without the support of my wonderful wife Cath and our amazing kids.

"(But) 2016 is the end of the road for this chapter - onwards and upwards: 'feet on the ground, head in the clouds'.

Kids from Kilburn don't win Olympic Golds and Tour de Frances'! They do now.

The final months of Wiggins' career has been clouded in controversy amid the Team Sky Therapeutic Use Exemption controversy, although there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.

Wiggins, who was knighted in the Queen's New Year's honours list at the start of 2013, won the final event of his career - the Six Days of Ghent meet, alongside Mark Cavendish, in November.

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