I joined the swim team when I was 12, and I was the worst kid in the pool - I was put with a group of 7-year-olds.

I think I bit off more than I could chew. I thought the marathon would be easier. For the level of condition that I have now... that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done.

I figure the faster I pedal, the faster I can retire.

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.

It can't be any simpler: the farewell is going to be on the Champs-Elysees.

It's ironic, I used to ride my bike to make a living. Now I just want to live so that I can ride.

If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.