There is something more important than winning. Dignity must come before everything, including victory in a race as important as the Tour. You can't treat people without respect.

If I had been born with an aggressive character, then maybe my palmares would have been longer. My strength was that I am more balanced and calmer than most other riders. 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. The sense for responsibility I have got from my mother.

Merckx remains the greatest cyclist of all. He dared to strain his body to the extremes. When I was racing I thought: 'They are legends, I'm just Indurain.' I will never think I'm like Merckx or Hinault.

Cycling is harder than most sports. I can tell you, it really takes it out of you.

I am a happy man, because I can determine my own rhythm of life. No money in the world could persuade me to tie myself to something. I have earned enough to take it a bit easier now. To be free and to live a free life, that is the most beautiful thing there is.