Read about England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup Win
Sir Bradley Wiggins was knighted in the 2013 New Years Honours for services to cycling after becoming the first British winner of the Tour de France in 2012. Representing Team Sky, Wiggins took charge of the overall classification and, with it, the signature yellow jersey, after stage seven, a 199km course from Tomblaine in northeastern France to the summit of La Planche des Belles Filles in the Vosges Mountains, in which he finished third to teammate Chris Froome. Two days later, Wiggins recorded his first Tour stage win, on stage nine, a individual time trial over 41.5km between Arc-et-Senans and Besancon.
Wiggins maintained his lead for the remaining stages of the race and finally secured victory by winning the nineteenth, and penultimate, stage, another individual time trial over 53.5km between Bonneval and Chartres. He punched the air as he crossed the line, safe in the knowledge that, barring accidents of the final, 120km stage – effectively a ceremonial procession – from Rambouillet to the Champs-Élysées in Paris the following day, he would win the overall classification. That he did, completing the twenty-stage, 3,497-kilometre race 3 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Sky teammate Chris Froome.
In an outstanding year, Wiggins also won the Paris-Nice race and the Criterium du Dauphine, the two biggest races in France after the Tour de France, the Tour de Romandie in Switzerland and a gold medal in the time-trial event at the London Olympics. Wiggins retired from cycling in late 2016 but, two years later, a report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee stated that he, and Team Sky, has ‘crossed an ethical line’, by using drugs that, while allowed under World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, were intended to boost performance, rather than treat medical need, in preparation for the Tour de France.
The phrase ‘Hand of God’ was coined after Argentinian captain Diego Maradona described his first goal against England in the quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup as being scored ‘a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.’
Early in the second half of the match, in the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, with the scores level at 0-0, England midfielder Steve Hodge sliced a high, looping ball in the direction of his own penalty and what followed became one of the most iconic, and controversial, incidents in football history. As the ball dropped from the heavens, Maradona jumped alongside England goalkeeper Peter Shilton who, at 6′, stood 7″ taller than his dimunitive opponent. However, as Shilton reached forward with his right glove, Maradona raised his left fist, close to his head, and dexterously, but illegally, nudged the ball over the goalkeeper and into the empty net.
Maradona raced away towards the corner flag, pausing briefly to check if the match officials had noticed his infringement. Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser allowed the goal but, in the face of protests from the English players, looked in the direction of Bulgarian linesman Bogdan Dochev as he ran back towards the centre circle. Dochev – who later admitted that he had seen Maradona punch the ball over Shilton – gave no indication of handball and the goal stood.
To add insult to injury, just minutes later, Maradona carried the ball from inside half, outpacing English midfielder Peter Reid – who later described his vain pursuit of the Argentinian No. 10 as ‘like a kid chasing his Dad in the garden’ – and beating three defenders before slotting home past Shilton for his second goal. In 2002, the goal was voted ‘FIFA World Cup Goal of the Century’. Argentina won the match 2-1 and went on to win the FIFA World Cup Trophy, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final.
Watch Maradona’s Hand of God