Bradley Wiggins

“Usually, the great thing about cycling is that anybody can watch it; it's very accessible.”

“How does Ronnie O'Sullivan play snooker the way he does? You can't explain it.”

“You have got Team Sky leading the way on a professional front. They are quite open and have done everything possible on an anti-doping level.”

“I've been in a lot of pressure situations; I know what I can do.”

“If you didn't go out every time it was raining, you wouldn't get anything done. So it's a case of making the right clothing choice in terms of waterproof, breathable, warm clothing.”

“You speak to the press at the Tour every day, but most often in a negative sense. Ninety per cent of the questions you are asked in the post-race press conferences are challenging or provocative, so you have to justify yourself; you have to try to give the right answers about every topic across the board.”

“It was what I've always wanted, more than anything: to be an Olympic hero rather than a Tour de France star, something I had from childhood.”

“If we went to the Tour, I'd have to think, what would our purpose be? Would it be to win the Tour de France? I'm not sure I want that pressure.”

“The changing of the goals helps keep the motivation fresh.”

“I feel like I was born to ride the track.”

“I ended up in Hampstead for two weeks after the Tour, visiting a hospital every day before my granddad died. But he was more than my granddad. He was like my father.”

“One of my all-time favourite guitarists is, in fact, a bassist - John Entwistle from The Who. He's one of my all-time favourites, the way he kind of expanded. I mean, he could have been a lead guitarist and been one of the best guitarists in the world. He wasn't even bass player; he was a bass guitarist, and he took the bass to another level.”

“Working-class people don't tend to be wooed by celebrity.”

“It's really incredible to win an Olympic Gold in your home city.”

“I think my wife has struggled a bit because of how obsessive I get with what I eat and stuff.”

“I feel a different person in a lot of ways. I feel much more professional and dedicated to my trade than I used to be. I appreciate this ability I've got - and don't take it for granted any more. That fits every aspect of my life now.”

“Doing 40-minute track sessions is easy money compared to what we were doing on the Tour. What you used to think was hard now feels like a walk in the park.”

“The 2012 Olympics is a fantastic incentive for everyone to help leave a sporting legacy and show that Britain is truly a great sporting nation.”

“Early Nineties - that was what it was all about: how people dressed on the terraces.”

“I'm not just a time triallist any more.”