How many times do I have to say it? … Well, it can't be any clearer than 'I've never taken drugs.'

The answer is hard work. What are you doing on Christmas Eve? Are you riding your bike? January 1st - are you riding your bike?

Everything in my life is in perspective. OK, perspective ebbs and flows. I've had bad days, but they weren't in the last years. A bad day is 2 October 1996: 'We've got bad news for you, you've got advanced testicular cancer and you've got a coin's toss chance of survival.' That's a bad day.

What matters is ultimately what collectively those people on the street - whether that's the cycling community, the cancer community - it matters what they think.

I didn't just jump back on the bike and win. There were a lot of ups and downs, good results and bad results, but this time I didn't let the lows get to me.

It's frustrating in the sense that I still think I could be competing at some sport at a fairly high level, which nobody cares about. Nobody wants to hear me say that.

It was great to fight in training, great to fight in the race, but you don't need to fight in a press conference, or an interview, or a personal interaction.