Bradley Wiggins raced into sporting history in the ancient royal household of London's Hampton Court when he became the most decorated British Olympian of all time after winning gold in the men's individual time trial.

Now it is almost certain he will be invited by the end of the year to another royal palace in his home town to be tapped on the shoulder by the royal sword.

Arise, Sir Bradley. That surely is the deserved and inevitable outcome of Wiggins' latest achievement in a year during which he has pushed back the frontiers of British sport.

Just for good measure and as if to prove British cycling is out of sight in world sport right now, Chris Froome, runner-up in the Tour de France, once more shared the medal podium with Wiggins after taking the bronze.

But as Wiggins took a last lingering look at the magnificent castle, just minutes after receiving his seventh Olympic medal, he was gripped by a touch of sadness.

"There is almost slight melancholy," he said. "I realised on the podium that that is it for me. I don't think anything is going to top that. To win the tour and then win Olympic gold in London at 32. I'll look back in 10, 15 years and think that was as good as it got."

The truth is sport does not come any better. The victory, by a colossal 42 seconds from silver medallist, Germany's Tony Martin, on the roads of Surrey, starting and finishing at Hampton Court, brought Wiggins' Olympic tally to four golds, a silver and two bronze.

Better than Chris Hoy's four gold and a silver, although those statistics may well be improved in the coming days.

Better numerically than Steve Redgrave's six, although they included five golds and a bronze.

But it is the fact that Wiggins' gold came a couple of weeks after becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France which puts his achievement up there in the pantheon of greatness.

Up there with Redgrave and his astonishing longevity. Up there with Daley Thompson and his decathlon versatility which brought back-to-back golds. Up there with Sebastian Coe and back-to-back victories in the 1500m in Moscow and Los Angeles.

If a vote had been taken on the roads of Surrey as thousands of roaring spectators once more lined the route to savour a free glimpse of the Olympic atmosphere then Wiggins surely would have been inducted as Britain's greatest sportsman.

This is not swimming, in which America's Michael Phelps at these Games has raised the bar when it comes to collecting medals in a sport with so many similar events and distances.

Wiggins has done it on the track, winning gold in the individual and team pursuit in Beijing and bronze in the madison in Athens. He has won over 3000 metres. He has won over the ultimate challenge, over 2200 miles over three weeks including the punishing Pyrenees. There are no 'gimme' victories in that lot.

Yet it is the way Wiggins has won this summer which is such a joy. With poise and integrity, notably when he slowed the Tour de France peloton to allow rivals to catch up after they had suffered punctures when tacks were thrown onto the road.

No, he was unable to help Mark Cavendish to glory in the road race last Saturday, even though he emptied the reserve tank in his efforts to do so.

However, in the time trial Wiggins simply was sublime. Destroying the field who walked through the world's press in the grounds of Hampton Court and admitted to a man: "He's unbeatable."

Wiggins, in his matter-of-fact fashion, did not disagree. "I have been this year," he said. "And that in itself is so satisfying because of the work we have put in and the sacrifices the family have made. To come away with the results from all that work it has been worthwhile."

Then he looked up at Henry VIII's castle one more time, where heads used to roll on a regular basis, and said: "To have that setting to win Olympic gold in front of the castle. It's about as British as you can get. And it's sunshining. It's like all the gods have come together for me these last six weeks."

Up there with the sporting gods. That sums up Wiggins rather nicely.