Victoria Pendleton

People may think I'm crazy, but one of the ways I like to wind down my Friday is to get some of our household chores done, whether it's cleaning or doing a big food shop, so the house is all nice for the weekend.

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

My success has got so great, it's like I'm trapped, almost, within it.

I am fighting my natural body shape to do what I do.

I am so in tune with my body that I know how it should feel.

Winning is no longer just the outcome. It's part of the process.

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

I used to have a rant all the time when things went wrong, at everybody around me, because you just have to get the frustration out.

I often felt that I didn't train and race enough team sprint to get it right. You need to know that you've got a place to have that continuity of results. Am I in? Am I out of this one? That's tough.

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.

Food plays a large part in our weekend, but on a Friday evening, I'll make us something simple for tea. I might have a wee glass of wine.

I'm not one for going out on the town on Friday night, as I've never been a big drinker, so I like getting the rubbish jobs out of the way so we can enjoy our free time.

I was always cycling for my dad. Then the coaches got bigger, and my results got better. Suddenly, the responsibility grows, and I'm doing it for somebody else, I'm doing it for a programme; I'm doing it for the country. I'm doing it for, like, everybody.

Maybe guys also have insecurities, but in a sporting arena, they keep it to themselves. I can't do that.

The men couldn't understand how I could be so successful and so insecure at the same time - because it doesn't really exist in the same way in the male psyche.

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

As you get older, you get more accepting - although, if you asked me whose body I would want, I would say Jess Ennis's at the Olympics.

I worried I was a boyish shape. I always thought I might grow some, but it never happened.

As a teenager, I wanted to look like the early '90s curvy supermodels. Even in my early 20s, I always said as soon as I retired from cycling, I'd get a boob job.

People will put restrictions on your ability, on your aptitude, on your talent, on your character, and to be honest, it's just opinion. Don't let anyone put you in a box or draw your path for you.

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've lost a lot more races than I've ever won... it's all part of the journey, really.

There have been a lot of moments in my career when things haven't gone to plan.

Eating vegetarian in the past would have been a really bad choice as an athlete. Impossible. Just being able to get the amount of protein in was a mission. You couldn't be picky. I feel quite liberated by the fact that I can now quite recklessly choose vegetarian food.

I thrive on having support around me, even if they are not actively doing something. I feel happier, more confident.

I think just drinking juice is too extreme for a diet. Your body needs more than juice, so I think it's a very hard thing to do - very challenging and probably very unhealthy for your body. You can't get everything you need from a juice. I love juice because it can provide you with nutrients - but drink it alongside your diet!

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 naturally favour a clean, healthy diet. A salad sandwich is one of my favourite meals!

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.

I used to wear miniskirts with my GB top, and sparkly sandals, and the boys would be like: 'Oh my gosh, this girl cannot be serious.'

I quite enjoy sport, and I'm now an Olympic champion. It's a bit weird, isn't it?

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 sport and will do just about anything. Someone said they'd had a go at skiing off a mountain with a parachute, and that sounds great!

I went to Australia and did a three day hike with my fiance through the wilderness, which was nice.

I love watching Crufts on the television, especially the agility tests; I find them very impressive.

I'm very passionate about my two Dobermans, Stella and Mr Jonty. I go on and on and on about them, and people have to tell me to shut up before I get out pictures of them.

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

It would be great to be recognised for my achievements, but Sports Personality isn't about that.

Cycling as a whole is totally underestimated.

You have to be realistic. I'd love to be more famous, have lots of people supporting me, people knowing my name, but I need a tennis racket or a golf club or to play football. Being a female, I don't stand a chance.

There's footage of me bouncing around, all uncoordinated, trying to work out how on earth you're supposed to do a rising trot on a really extravagant moving eventing horse.

I've been told from the start, 'Don't fall in love with the horses'. But that's so hard. I'm in awe.

It's a rare and special feeling to ride a racehorse.

Apparently, I have such a serious race face, even when I'm doing a bit of work, at first everybody wasn't sure if I was enjoying it or not. But it's absolutely exhilarating. It feels like you're one with your horse and you're flying.

Anyone that has been lucky enough to go to the races and witness the magnificent spectacle of a competitive race will know how people like me can instantly fall in love with the power and beauty of race horses in full gallop.

I have always loved animals and groomed friends' horses as a child. I think I may have even ridden the odd seaside donkey in my early years.

As a professional track cyclist, I have always challenged myself, and I enjoy seeing how I cope when faced with the unknown.

Winning the gold medal should have been the happiest day of my entire life, and it just wasn't. It felt like the saddest day of my life. Everyone was so angry with us, that Scott and I had fallen in love, because it was so unprofessional, and we were a disgrace and had betrayed everybody.

I've always been very open with my emotions. Actually, that's got me into a lot of trouble, too, in the past.

As you ride in a steeplechase, and you're on the horse, going quite fast, you think, 'That's quite a big fence...' But trust the horse, and don't give him any reason to doubt you.