Cyclist Sir Bradley ‘humbled’ to be knighted by Queen

The 33-year-old was honoured for services to cycling in a career that has included seven Olympic medals and becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France.

Sir Bradley, who was joined at Buckingham Palace yesterday by his wife and two children, said the title was an “incredible honour” for the “inferior” accomplishment of winning a bike race.

Still visibly shell-shocked moments after the ceremony, he said: “It was quite nerve-wracking, actually. I’m just incredibly uncomfortable in those circumstances.

“I’m still shaking now, to be honest. I’m glad it’s over. The Queen asked what I’m doing now, and it was an incredible summer last year.

“I mean it’s quite humbling, really, being here. I was just talking to some of the other people getting stuff, and asking them what they’ve been honoured for, and they’re historic things, ground-breaking sciences or whatever.

“I’ve won a bike race, you know, and I feel a little bit inferior to everyone, really.

“It’s just the end of the road in a sense, in that it tops off the closure of last summer as it were, even though it’s more than a year ago. It’s a great honour.”

The newly-knighted cyclist turned heads in a brown, bell-bottomed, three-piece suit, complete with a knitted tie and suede collar.