Survival is the main objective. There are going to be some awful days, I know that from my background in the sport.

In fact cycling has always been 'saved' by judicial investigations and not by the anti-doping controls we put in place. That's the harsh truth. We have relied on them to clean the sport up.

It seemed romantic but also tragic - people would be winning but then lose it all, or crash but fight on, break bones but get back on their bikes and try to finish. Just getting to the end was seen as an achievement in itself.

I think cycling has always had a tradition of being a bit dapper, especially back in the day.

Coming from bad results, you have more tension and you get more into the game, maybe. You never know which is best. I prefer to come from good results. You have more confidence and you believe you are doing things well. But in football everything can change very quickly.

I don't like to talk about players from other teams, just like I wouldn't like it if the opposition coach talked about my team. It's a question of respect.

Leading your family is a lot tougher than basketball.

I have been requesting the government because it is the government which has to allocate the land to build public courses. I am willing to meet the minister and discuss ways to make courses public and more accessible to the regular sports enthusiasts.