“I was always cycling for my dad. Then the coaches got bigger, and my r...” — Victoria Pendleton Quote

“I was always cycling for my dad. Then the coaches got bigger, and my results got better. Suddenly, the responsibility grows, and I'm doing it for somebody else, I'm doing it for a programme; I'm doing it for the country. I'm doing it for, like, everybody.”

“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?'”

“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.”

“When one has not had a good father, one must create one.”

“Every parent is at some time the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope.”

“We've grown up watching Dad setting and breaking records - my brother Sam was born when Dad was halfway across the Atlantic, going after a record.”