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I was put on a pony as a kid at some birthday party when you're all led around.
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A lot of women in sport tend to take on a very masculine, aggressive look. They want to be perceived as being strong and powerful. I never lost that sense of wanting to retain my femininity.
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I used to feel very lonely on the team. The boys would all pair up.
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I'm not the perfect model of what an athlete should be, mentally or physically.
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We don't talk about courage much in our everyday conversations, but I am comfortable with it now.
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It's an evolution. The same team doesn't always dominate, and it goes in cycles.
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I worried I was a boyish shape. I always thought I might grow some, but it never happened.
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I compete in a sport on an individual basis, but I have never done it for me.
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People say, 'Wow, you've achieved it all this year: two world championship wins and an Olympic gold medal.' And I think, 'Yeah, but how come I feel so unsatisfied and under pressure all over again?'
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I was just, like, all I want to do is be really good at something. Really, really good at something, so people are vaguely impressed by me.
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Anyone that has been lucky enough to go to the races and witness the magnificent spectacle of a competitive race will know how people like me can instantly fall in love with the power and beauty of race horses in full gallop.
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As a professional track cyclist, I have always challenged myself, and I enjoy seeing how I cope when faced with the unknown.
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We've all said, 'No, no, I couldn't do that... ' But actually, you could if you just went, 'You know what? I will... and I shall.' Once you realise that, it's quite wonderful.
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I think I might become a pescatarian. I love sushi, couldn't give it up.
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Winning is no longer just the outcome. It's part of the process.
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Even though I've won numerous titles and an Olympic gold medal, there are still so many faults in my performance that I can honestly hardly bear to watch the videos back.
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The men couldn't understand how I could be so successful and so insecure at the same time - because it doesn't really exist in the same way in the male psyche.
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I often felt that I didn't train and race enough team sprint to get it right. You need to know that you've got a place to have that continuity of results. Am I in? Am I out of this one? That's tough.
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Oddly enough you'd think, now that I wasn't training professionally, I'd be able to enjoy a lie-in at the weekend, but I actually slept more when I was competing because I was so tired.
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I beat myself up the whole time because I'm striving for something I'll basically never achieve. I portray this image of confidence, of arrogance, and it's not really me. I'm never satisfied, and I'm never content. It means I'm a bit of a mess some of the time.
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I used to have a rant all the time when things went wrong, at everybody around me, because you just have to get the frustration out.
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One of the first coaches I worked with on the national team told me that I was too skinny, too puny, and had no natural acceleration. He said I'd be better off looking for another facet of sport to follow. That was a really, really bad moment. For a long time, I felt as if my dad was the only one who had faith in me.
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Cycling as a whole is totally underestimated.
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What the event will be like, being part of the Olympics and being in London, is too much to think about. You've no control over those things, so in a way, it's wasted energy to think of them.