I did try to win a sixth, but it was not to be.

I inherited that calm from my father, who was a farmer. You sow, you wait for good or bad weather, you harvest, but working is something you always need to do.

My strength was that I am more balanced and calmer than most other riders.

If I had been born with an aggressive character, then maybe my palmares would have been longer.

Everybody tells me that I never look as if I'm suffering. But, when I watch videotapes of a race, I always remember the pain I had to endure.

To be free and to live a free life - that is the most beautiful thing there is.

Sooner or later a rider will emerge who will win more Tours. In every sport we have seen how the records eventually get broken and cycling is no exception.

I didn't feel I had to prove anything more.

I know I’m not supposed to say this, ” he said. “But I think I love you more than ever.”I took his hand and tried not to think about how happy his words made me.

The ministry of the church is a genuine concern for others. We need to stop talking about it and start doing it. Rise.Rise and shine, friend. Everyone you meet today is on heaven's Most Wanted list.

You always pass failure on the way to success.

The stars are the apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distant and different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one at the same moment!

One must always have in mind one simple fact - there is no literate population in the world that is poor, and there is no illiterate population that is anything but poor.

The historian is a prophet looking backward.

My mother used to hope that I would rise up from my humble roots. Become someone sucessful, or even famous. I'm famous all right, but I don't think it's what she had in mind.

It warms the cockles of my heart. Words chosen carefully.

Sometimes I get really lonely. Especially when I'm throwing a Frisbee.

I don't think of myself as a legend. I just love what I do. I love playing with my band, I love going to beautiful places and give people good music. I love what I do, I'm very lucky man.