LONDON: Five-time Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins says he became a cocaine addict following his retirement from cycling and is “lucky to be here.”

The British father of two, who quit his addiction a year ago, said his children wanted to put him in rehab, fearing the issue could prove fatal.

Wiggins, who won the Tour de France in 2012, said he attends regular therapy sessions, and feels “a lot more at peace” with himself.

“There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning,” he told The Observer. “I was a functioning addict. People wouldn’t realize. I was high most of the time for many years.”

He added: “I was walking a tightrope. I realized I had a huge problem. I had to stop. I’m lucky to be here.

“I was a victim of all my own choices, for many years.

“I already had a lot of self-hatred, but I was amplifying it. It was a form of self-harm and self-sabotage. It was not the person I wanted to be. I realized I was hurting a lot of people around me.”

Since ending his career in 2016, Wiggins has spoken about his father’s jealousy and being groomed by a coach as a child.

The 45-year-old, last year declared bankrupt, said disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who confessed to doping in 2013, had helped his recovery, including offering to pay for therapy.

“My addiction was a way of easing that pain that I lived with,” said Wiggins, according to Cycling Weekly.

“I’m still figuring a lot of this out but what I have got is a lot more control of myself and my triggers. I’m a lot more at peace with myself now which is a really big thing.”