Bradley Wiggins described his successful bid for cycling's hour-record as the closest he'll come to knowing the pain of childbirth.

Wiggins smashed the record of 52.937 kilometres by cycling 54.526km in an hour at the Lee Valley Velo Park in the Olympic Park in London.

The achievement is another landmark in a storied career for Wiggins that has seen him win the Tour de France as well as four Olympic gold medals.

He told Sky Sports: "I'm just glad it's done. That's the closest I'll ever come to knowing what it's like to have a baby. [It was] tortuous.

"We've been through a lot as a team. When you're out there, you never think it's going to come to an end.

"I always compare myself to the greats and I'm just glad to be in the company of those guys. Just to get up there and put yourself on the line, it takes a lot of courage, it's tough.

"It just tops it off [his career], to do everything and come here still as an old man, to come back and do this here is memorable."