It really is all about believing in yourself: 80 per cent mental, 20 per cent physical.

I don't think I really knew how fit I was when I was a kid. I rode with my dad quite long distances and I've been racing since the age of nine, so we did a lot of sport growing up. My earliest memories of my dad are watching him race, so it was inevitable when we were old enough that my brother and I would get on bikes.

I really love routine and so I've never found it a problem. I really enjoy it. I don't mind somebody organising what I have to do. I'm a creature of habit in some ways.

In competition, everything is very well planned in advance and very well detailed. You just stick to the plan, keep your head down and be as disciplined as possible in every aspect, whether sleep, recovery or the intensity of your training. And it's all recorded the data is analysed.

It's a risky business being a cyclist in the UK, there are a lot of people who really dislike us. It's the Jeremy Clarkson influence - we're hated on the roads. We just hope people realise we are just flesh and bones on two wheels.

I like to eat healthily anyway and I think I've become more disciplined now I've retired - because I'm such a creature of habit, I don't find it hard to do. I quite enjoy the challenge.

Succeeding in sport is about how much practise you put in.

When you see your male counterparts living a completely different lifestyle, I think it would be quite depressing! So no, it's not for me.