Daniel Bigham
Bigham in 2018
Personal information
Full nameDaniel John Bigham
Born (1991-10-02) 2 October 1991
Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Team information
Disciplines
  • Track
  • Road
RoleRider
Rider typeTime trialist (road), Pursuitist (track)
Amateur teams
2016Planet X–Northside
2017Brother DriverPlan NRG
2018Ribble Pro Cycling
Professional team
2019–2021Ribble Pro Cycling[1]
Major wins
Track
Team pursuit, World Championships (2022)
Hour record 55.548 km (19 August 2022)
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Men's road bicycle racing
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2019 YorkshireTeam relay
Men's track cycling
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Saint-Quentin-en-YvelinesTeam pursuit
Silver medal – second place2023 GlasgowIndividual pursuit
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2024 ApeldoornIndividual pursuit
Gold medal – first place2024 ApeldoornTeam pursuit
Silver medal – second place2023 GrenchenIndividual pursuit
Silver medal – second place2023 GrenchenTeam pursuit
Representing  England
Men's track cycling
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place2022 BirminghamTeam pursuit

Daniel John Bigham (born 2 October 1991) is a British racing cyclist,[2] who rode for UCI Continental team Ribble Weldtite from 2018 until 2021,[3] but has predominantly competed in endurance track events.

He gained national attention being the figurehead of the Huub-Wattbike trade team. Despite their lack of budget and operating outside the British Cycling set-up, they achieved great success on the track, winning UCI World Cup events and bringing a variety of technical and strategic innovations to team pursuiting,[4] before changes were made to trade team eligibility rules.

Following success in the team pursuit, Bigham has ridden in a number of men's individual pursuit event at the 2018 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[5]

Starting in 2022, he also works for Ineos Grenadiers as a performance engineer, helping the riders on the team improve their aerodynamic performance.[6][7] At the 2022 British National Track Championships in Newport, Wales he won another British title, winning the individual pursuit.[8] He has regularly raced against his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Fillipo Ganna, most notably during their hour record attempts and the 2023 UCI Track World Championships.[9] Despite Ganna's significant physical advantages, Bigham has achieved success through technical innovations and training methods. He has been previously outspoken against British Cycling, conventional technical wisdom, and the value of pink componentary in achieving aerodynamic advantages up to a claimed 7-10 watts.

Alongside Charlie Tanfield, Ethan Vernon and Oliver Wood, Bigham won silver in the team pursuit at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[10]

Hour record

On 1 October 2021, Bigham rode 54.723 km (34.003 mi) at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen (Switzerland) to break Bradley Wiggins's British national hour record.[11] He was ineligible to attempt the UCI record because he was not enrolled in the UCI's Registered Testing Pool anti-doping system, including a biological passport.[12] While all World Tour riders and ProTeam riders are in the testing pool, Bigham estimated it would cost him £8,000 to join as an individual.[13]

On 19 August 2022, Bigham broke the hour record with a distance of 55.548 km at the Grenchen Velodrome in Switzerland.[14] Bigham held the record for just shy of two months; Filippo Ganna registered 56.792 km in October 2022, surpassing Bigham's mark by more than 1 km.[15] Bigham was a central part of the team in Ganna's attempt,[16] using the engineering knowledge he had developed in his own record to aid Ganna.

Ganna and Bigham met in the final of the individual pursuit at the 2023 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, with Ganna edging Bigham for gold by a fraction of a second.

Personal life

Bigham's partner is fellow cyclist Joss Lowden, former holder of the women's hour record.[17][13]

Major results

Road

2016
3rd Beaumont Trophy
2019
3rd Team relay, UCI Road World Championships
4th Beaumont Trophy
5th Time trial, National Road Championships
2021
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships
2022
2nd Time trial, National Road Championships

Track

2017
National Championships
1st Individual pursuit
1st Kilo
1st Team pursuit
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, Minsk
2018
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Cup, London
2nd Individual pursuit, National Championships
2019
National Championships
1st Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit
2020
National Championships
1st Team pursuit
2nd Kilo
3rd Individual pursuit
2021
British hour record: 54.723 km
2022
Hour record: 55.548 km
1st Team pursuit, UCI World Championships
1st Individual pursuit, National Championships
2nd Team pursuit, Commonwealth Games
2023
1st Team pursuit, UCI Nations Cup, Milton
UEC European Championships
2nd Individual pursuit
2nd Team pursuit
2nd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
2024
UEC European Championships
1st Individual pursuit
1st Team pursuit

References

  1. ↑ "Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Daniel Bigham". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  4. ↑ www.eurosport.com https://www.eurosport.com/geoblocking.shtml. Retrieved 12 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "Start list". tissottiming.com. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  6. ↑ Benson, Daniel (3 January 2022). "Dan Bigham joins technical staff at Ineos Grenadiers". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Dan Bigham". Ineos Grenadiers.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "2022 National Track Championships". British Cycling. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  9. ↑ www.eurosport.com https://www.eurosport.com/geoblocking.shtml. Retrieved 12 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "Men's 4000m Team Pursuit - Finals - Gold". Birmingham 2022 Detailed Results. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Dan Bigham breaks Bradley Wiggins' British Hour Record". cyclingnews.com. October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Inside UCI". Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Dowsett: It's desperately unfair that Bigham can't go for official Hour Record". 28 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Dan Bigham sets new UCI Hour Record of 55.548km". VeloNews.com. 19 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Filippo Ganna smashes cycling's hour world record". BBC Sport. 8 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Fletcher, Patrick (5 October 2022). "Project Ganna – Dan Bigham the mastermind of plot to take down his own Hour Record". Cycling News. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "News: Joss Lowden Breaks Women's Hour Record". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
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