Quotes from Victoria Pendleton

I used to feel very lonely on the team. The boys would all pair up.

I genuinely enjoy the process of making colourful, delicious food. But I do allow myself an occasional piece of chocolate - today I had a pastry. If I fancy something, I'll have it.

I am a self-critical perfectionist.

I've never pretended that I'm not female and vulnerable. To me, it's just being honest.

I'm not the perfect model of what an athlete should be, mentally or physically.

A lot of women in sport tend to take on a very masculine, aggressive look. They want to be perceived as being strong and powerful. I never lost that sense of wanting to retain my femininity.

You look at a horse, and he's such a majestic, beautiful, powerful creature that you can't not be impressed. I love scraping the water off them when I wash them down because you go all round the contours, and its muscle and body, and you just think, 'Ooh, isn't this a magnificent creature.' You're touching it, and it's just solid, carved muscle.

I'm definitely capable of just enjoying riding my bike these days.

What the event will be like, being part of the Olympics and being in London, is too much to think about. You've no control over those things, so in a way, it's wasted energy to think of them.

A car is a killing machine. It's like waving a loaded gun. People don't realise how dangerous they are.

I compete in a sport on an individual basis, but I have never done it for me.

I think I might become a pescatarian. I love sushi, couldn't give it up.

I was constantly being told I shouldn't talk so much about how I was feeling. They seemed to think I was giving too much away to my competitors. Showing signs of weakness. But I've always thought that was rubbish.

I'm someone who wears their heart on their sleeve.

Oddly enough you'd think, now that I wasn't training professionally, I'd be able to enjoy a lie-in at the weekend, but I actually slept more when I was competing because I was so tired.

I was put on a pony as a kid at some birthday party when you're all led around.

We don't talk about courage much in our everyday conversations, but I am comfortable with it now.

It's an evolution. The same team doesn't always dominate, and it goes in cycles.

As a kid growing up - I can see now - it didn't matter what I did, as long as it was something I could be really good at. Cycling just happened to be the opportunity that came along.

As weird as it is it to see yourself on screen, it made everything we've been through seem very real. And, well, London is only weeks away now.

I love it and really, really enjoy weight training. I love free weights. I find it really rewarding.

You have to make the mistakes and have those failures in order to learn from them and grow and improve... But for me, the best way to combat any of that beating yourself up or overanalysing, the most important part is always to be prepared to the best of your ability.

I always feel that most people out there who aren't sure if the gym is really for them aren't prepared to pay and find out.

I've been taught by some of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the country, and I've learnt that technique for weight training and cycling is very much more strength and less conditioning.