The idea that anybody was forced, or pressured, or encouraged, is not true.
But the fact is that I wouldn't have won even a single Tour de France without the lesson of illness. What it teaches is this: pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.
You can teach someone how to control their strength, but you can't teach them to be strong.
Hope that is the only antidote to fear.
It can't be any simpler: the farewell is going to be on the Champs-Elysees.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for me if I've lost a dollar or $100m.