Professional Cycling Quotes

But, listen, Eddie Merkyx would have won six Tours if he hadn't been punched.

To be brutally honest, it's simple economics. If they want to come into cycling, sponsors need to know the team they are funding is clean, otherwise the risk is just too great.

At the Tour, you always have some fantastic days and some days where you hit the asphalt. Today was an asphalt day for me.

I think an Olympic medal is the only thing missing from what I can physically achieve as a cyclist. I can't win the Tour de France, but I've pretty much won everything else that I can within my physical realm, so that's the only thing missing.

Chris Boardman was my first teammate and my first roommate. I saw him finish his career with an hour record and thought, 'Yeh, what a way to go out!'

What I have learned about the sport of cycling is that you have to love it to do it because you're not going to retire off of it.

It's tough though because of the whole part about getting sponsors and people out to watch women's cycling. I think the only way that women can really work it is that we have to work our way more into these big grand tours that the men have like the Tour de Georgia, Tour of Utah, and Tour of California.

Apparently I'm not a pro cyclist.

Lance Armstrong admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. He confessed in front of the most respected judge in the land, Oprah Winfrey.

When you're the oldest rider at the Tour de France, you really feel it.

It's all well and good having a women's Tour de France - which I think we need and I think we should have. But I think we should slowly build it in and not just go 'Bam!' with three weeks over the same course and same length of time as the men's.

It's funny because when there's something written about me in Velonews or Cyclingnews, the headline isn't "the other" Armstrong; its Armstrong wins another race. With Lance in retirement, everyone I know goes to those sites because they think Lance is racing again.

Nowadays, we have to deal with so many more factors that weren't there in the past. It's not enough to be a good rider, if you want to finish at the front. The riders have become incredible athletes. In the past, you could manage the race and fight only on the last laps. Now you need to train hard. You cannot allow yourself to go on track without being at 100 percent.

The Tour de France would make a great movie. Drugs, corruption, political chicanery, guys risking their lives - everything you need for a great sports drama.

What's really appealing about women's cycling in America? If you took a poll in the women's peloton, I would bet you that 90% of the women have college degrees, and a lot of them have Masters. The women's peloton is very well educated.

At the end of the day, I'm riding a little kid's bike around a track; that's what I've done for as long as I can remember. Now it's just on a bigger stage at the Olympics.

Well, you better ride like you stole something 'cause you are about to win a stage in the Tour de Fance.

I'm 28, and for the next six or seven years my goal is to try to fight for the yellow jersey. If I can win it once I would be chuffed to bits.

I think the San Sebastian victory and and my European time trial title, and the second place in the worlds, really changed my life and my career a lot.

I think the other thing that's interesting about the women's peloton is that if you ask what their background is most have played college sports, and a lot of times have come off of injury and have gotten on a bike. A lot of us start post college in our mid 20's unlike in Europe where they start 10 years before that.

I know I'll never feel that sensation of racing and winning again and that took a while to get used to. The Tour was a race I never thought I could lose.

I'm happy that the sacrificing, the hard training, the travel, the time being away from the family, is going to stop. So I'm happy; I'm glad about that. But I'm also terrified. Frightened. Because, I mean, in my whole adult life, cycling was the most consistent thing I ever did.

I've given gifts in the Tour de France and it's come back to bit me. So no gifts.

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.

To be a part of TT history is a massive achievement. It is one of, if not the greatest races on two wheels, if not on four.