Wiggins plays it cool as he heads for Beijing chasing Sir Steve Redgrave's record as Britain's best Olympian

It will be a third Olympics for Wiggins, who was born in Belgium but grew up in London.

The 28-year-old won a bronze in 2000 and achieved a gold, a silver and a bronze in Athens.

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King of the track: Wiggins blazes the trail in Manchester

Four years on, he claims to be '10 times the rider' and is already plotting rides on home soil at the 2012 Games - and even the 2016 Olympics by which time he could comfortably be the most successful British Olympian ever.

However, Wiggins hates being likened to five-time gold medalist Redgrave and said: 'People say that but my reaction's "whatever"! I can't stop people talking but all I can do is try to get as many golds as possible.

'I don't really like bigging myself up with propaganda. I'm all about the longevity of my career rather than winning one specific medal. But what I want to do is to make the 4000m individual pursuit my own as an event in the Olympics, get as many golds as I can and then look back on what I've done.'

Wiggins's insistence on playing down his achievements is perhaps unsurprising.

While Kelly Holmes was regaled with public adulation on her return from Greece in 2004, Wiggins' achievement barely registered on the public sporting radar and the resulting fall-out very nearly derailed his career.

In the aftermath of Athens, he gave up cycling altogether, not returning to the saddle for three months, went out regularly drinking with friends and the lack of activity badly affected his mood.

'I was 23 and I'd won an Olympic gold, a silver and a bronze,' he said. 'But I came home and nothing had changed. I had no real recognition for what I'd done and, while that wasn't why I got into cycling, it would have been nice.

'It wasn't bitterness but disappointment after having worked so hard and no one seemed to have noticed what I'd done.

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Prize guys: Wiggins and Mark Cavendish (left) show off their gold medals in the men's madison in Manchester earlier this year

'So I didn't bother getting on my bike for three months and I started suffering from depression. I wondered if I wanted to cycle again and spend the next four years focusing on another Olympics.'

But then he was rewarded with an OBE and gradually regained his love for the sport - partially through the backing of former Olympic champion, Chris Boardman.

Now he arrives in Beijing with every chance of a triple gold in the individual pursuit, team pursuit and the madison - as he's the world champion in all three.

He readily admits he's done a lot of growing up in the last four years, helped in part by the birth of his son, Ben, who was born eight months after he won an Olympic gold, and his daughter Isabella, who's now 18 months.

'I went to Athens thinking my world would collapse if I didn't win gold,' he said. 'I couldn't imagine what it'd be like if I didn't win - I was an emotional wreck. I was quite a complex character back then but that's changed.

'I'm desperate to win a gold again but the reality is that if I come back with three gold medals for my daughter it won't mean a lot to her.

'She'll think they look nice and she'll probably just wander off with them but I'm still her dad whether I'm Olympic champion or not. And regardless of what I do, the kids have still got school on Monday and life goes on.

'It's a very humbling experience being a dad.'

Parenthood has come into even greater focus this year after Wiggins' father, Gary, himself a former cyclist,was found dead near his home in Australia at the end of January, which stirred up mixed emotions.

Solo star: Wiggins takes the men's individual pursuit in Manchester

He said: 'Of course I grieved but we had a difficult relationship. He left me and my mum on the street with two bin liners of clothes when I was two and then rang up when I was 18 saying he wanted to be my dad again. So I got back in contact with him but decided I didn't really like him all that much.

'I was still shocked and saddened by his death but we were never that close so it's not necessarily been detrimental to my Beijing preparations.'

Those preparations have included an average of six hours on the bike per day and passing on cycling's blue-riband event, the Tour de France, to focus solely on Beijing.

And he readily admits he'd love the chance to come back with three golds and defend all three in his home city four years on.

'I still consider myself a Londoner,' said the Manchester-based rider. 'It's where I grew up, where I went to school and it still feels like home, so I want to do the city proud and I'd love to have the opportunity to be defending Olympic champion in my home city.

'I miss the place but, sadly, it's often too dangerous to ride out there and the cycling facilities up in Manchester are second to none.

'In fact, when I last rode in London - it was just before the Tour de France came to London a year ago for the race start - I got nothing but grief from people.

'I was just another person in the way on the already blocked roads and they didn't have a clue what I was up to. It's sad really - if I'd been Paula Radcliffe on a training run, they would have cleared the way and cheered along.'