The key is being able to endure psychologically. When you're not riding well, you think, why suffer? Why push yourself for four or five hours? The mountains are the pinnacle of suffering

Sincere apologies are for those that make them, not for those to whom they are made.

The problem with being a Tour de France winner is you always have that feeling of disappointment if you don't win again. That's the curse of the Tour de France.

It is cycling as a professional sport that represents the problem. It can transform someone into a liar.

Perhaps the single most important element in mastering the techniques and tactics of racing is experience. But once you have the fundamentals, acquiring the experience is a matter of time.

I'm more optimistic about cycling right now than I've ever been.

You don't suffer, kill yourself and take the risks I take just for money. I love bike racing.