"Sooner or later a rider will emerge who will win more Tours. In every sport we have seen how the records eventually get broken and cycling is no exception."

"My strength was that I am more balanced and calmer than most other riders."

"To be free and to live a free life - that is the most beautiful thing there is."

"I have earned enough to take it a bit easier now."

"If I had been born with an aggressive character, then maybe my palmares would have been longer."

"I inherited that calm from my father, who was a farmer. You sow, you wait for good or bad weather, you harvest, but working is something you always need to do."