Quotes from Chris Hoy

Whatever sport I played - rugby, rowing - there were always naturally talented people who were better than me.

I used to row as a junior for Scotland but I was never massive, I was always tall and rangey.

Focusing on the long-term goal can be disheartening when you're so far away from it, so it's vital to have ongoing targets on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.

It doesn't matter what your target is, write down your goal and then plan how you are going to achieve it.

Cycling taught me to recognize that mental health is on a sliding scale. Some days you are up and some days you are down.

The Tour de France is a different kettle of fish to what I do, but it doesn't matter what you do - if you're on two wheels you do the best you can and do it clean.

My big travel bugbear is Manchester Airport because getting through Terminal Three, as I have to do quite a lot, is a nightmare.

As the lead rider in the team you always have to keep your eyes on the team you're pursuing - it's called the pursuit for good reason.

You are always pushing, pushing, pushing but it is when you do that that your body can break down.

I am sure in the long run cycling will continue to grow and flourish - not just in the U.K. but all around the world.

As a former track cyclist I know only too well the risk of crashing. You don't dwell on it when you are competing but there are lots of moments when you are close to serious accidents.

The biggest thing I noticed growing up when I was doing BMX racing or playing rugby through to secondary school level, was seeing the parents who were so desperate to see their kids do well that they were almost living their lives through their kids and putting huge pressure on them to the point they weren't enjoying it.

I used to build ramps in my back garden. It was more about having a bit of fun than racing.

All the support and opportunity started and then Le Mans became the pipe dream, the thing to aim for, the end of the rainbow.

I'm writing kid's books, I'm doing endurance racing with Le Mans and designing bikes. I've also got my own range of cycling clothing.

The Manchester games in 2002 was the breakthrough for me because I won my first individual Gold medal and that gave me the confidence to maybe think I could be a world beater.

I loved going to our winter training camps in Perth, Western Australia, when I was competing as a cyclist.

If you don't have a massage therapist on hand, then a foam roller can do the work instead.

The bottom line is that most cycling kit exists for a reason. The padded shorts, for example, might look silly, but if you are riding for any length of time on a small, thin saddle you are going to feel it.

Certainly for me the Commonwealth Games were fantastic to compete in and I genuinely have so many great memories of the three I went to.

There are days when we will all feel a bit down but that doesn't mean you have bad mental health. Recognizing this and being able to chat to others about your feelings is key.

Someone like Jessica Ennis-Hill having her first baby then bouncing back to become world champion in the space of the year. I maybe wouldn't have appreciated just how big an achievement that was until I had my own child. It's an incredible thing.

It sounds so innocuous but the difference between 99 percent and 100 percent is huge. You can finish at 99 percent and you'll be hurting but if you push a tiny bit more - and that's the bit that makes the difference to your training - your legs just grind to a halt. It's like your engine is seizing up.

It is an important competition and I certainly rate my gold medals at the Commonwealth Games right up there with my world titles and my Olympic titles.