I still look back and think, 'How did I win the Tour, going day to day under that pressure?'
The more time I was spending with the British team, the more of a laugh I was having with them. It's clean, their way of cycling; it's more about what you can produce as an athlete.
It was what I've always wanted, more than anything: to be an Olympic hero rather than a Tour de France star, something I had from childhood.
When you are suddenly standing in front of a bunch of journalists being asked what it's like being a British Olympic legend, it's a bit much to take in.
People think sport is life and death - it's not.
Wives are around a lot longer than your sporting years.
I can get obsessive with my training, but it makes you who you are.
I certainly don't hope to live forever, but on the other hand, I'm not reckless.
Pace judgement is everything in the hour record. If you can ride 16.1 or 16.2-second laps constantly for 221 laps, and not go 15.9s or 16.4s, it's keeping it on the line every lap, lap after lap.
How does Ronnie O'Sullivan play snooker the way he does? You can't explain it.
Doing 40-minute track sessions is easy money compared to what we were doing on the Tour. What you used to think was hard now feels like a walk in the park.
I can train harder and put myself through more punishing efforts now than I used to do, having done the Tour de France, and come off the road now.
When you see it from the outside, then you see just how great the Tour de France is.
A lot of the bikes are carbon wheels now, and you don't have as good a braking surface on a carbon wheel in the wet weather as you do on the old aluminium rims.
I know the freedom that cycling gives you in terms of being able to just jump on and go.
If you didn't go out every time it was raining, you wouldn't get anything done. So it's a case of making the right clothing choice in terms of waterproof, breathable, warm clothing.
I've been in a lot of pressure situations; I know what I can do.
My mum put herself in £50,000 of debt to service my sporting career. She did everything for me to pursue my dream.
I wanted to put a really good kids' racing bike out there for kids under 14: 10-year-olds, eight-year-olds, right down to balance bikes for kids.
Cycling is a part of my life; it always has been, and I will always continue to cycle. I won't be doing it on the world stage, doing it competitively, but I'll still be out on the weekend with the masses riding around Richmond Park in my Team Sky jersey or whatever. I just love it.
