Chris Hoy

“My advice is before a big ride, eat a meal 2 hours or so before, to allow you to digest and process it, and without being crude, try to get to the toilet before.”

“I loved going to our winter training camps in Perth, Western Australia, when I was competing as a cyclist.”

“The bottom line is that most cycling kit exists for a reason. The padded shorts, for example, might look silly, but if you are riding for any length of time on a small, thin saddle you are going to feel it.”

“The biggest challenge is trying to be in two, or even three, places at once.”

“I've done the 24-hour race in Le Mans, which was a dream come true.”

“We all have limitations in different forms. It could be financial, health-wise, work, family, whatever - there are things on the surface that limit what you can do.”

“Someone like Jessica Ennis-Hill having her first baby then bouncing back to become world champion in the space of the year. I maybe wouldn't have appreciated just how big an achievement that was until I had my own child. It's an incredible thing.”

“I'm lucky not to have suffered any severe problems with my mental health but there have been lows, like when Callum was born prematurely and had to spend so much time in hospital.”

“If you considered the risks of everything in life you wouldn't leave your house. But I am a father and a husband. I don't do these things for the hell of it. At the same time you accept the risks and acknowledge that there is a risk, that there could be a big crash or worse.”

“I've just made the most of what I've got, and the mental side of it is half the battle.”

“The Commonwealth Games have their critics, though I suspect that they are generally people who haven't experienced them.”

“If you stop and think about it before you compete, you would freeze. If you think about the millions of people watching, the expectation, the consequences of winning, of losing, it's a massive moment in your life.”

“I made a comment saying that it was 'mad' that I'm getting a knighthood for riding a bike but I meant mad as in unbelievable.”

“As a sports person there is definitely a responsibility to be a good role model.”

“It is an important competition and I certainly rate my gold medals at the Commonwealth Games right up there with my world titles and my Olympic titles.”

“As a sprinter, body weight was never an issue for me, not like the long distance riders who have to be so careful.”

“The Tour de France is a different kettle of fish to what I do, but it doesn't matter what you do - if you're on two wheels you do the best you can and do it clean.”

“I'd love to see Will Ferrell play me in a spoof track cycling movie.”

“I'm a bit of a neat freak.”