Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Cycling is not rocket science.
Shut up body and do what I tell you
I get paid to hurt other people, how good is that?
Every time I race, I will race so fiercely my legs cry.
If it hurts me, it must hurt the other ones twice as much.
When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!
While I'm not very talented at cooking, I am very talented at eating.
When you're the oldest rider at the Tour de France, you really feel it.
Having things organized is for small-minded people. Genius controls chaos.
After 120 kilometers my body said, ‘ooh, ooh Jens! What were you thinking?’
Apart from the fact that I can move the bike fast, I am basically Joe Average.
In the hierarchy of the family, I'm just above the dog. But I like it that way.
I am confident that when I get really old, the human lifespan will be extended.
If you try to win, you might lose, but if you don't try to win, you lose for sure!
If you go (with a break), you can either win or not win. If you don't go for it, you definitely won't win.
Crashing is never funny, but sometimes you can jump up, laugh at your stupidity, and go, 'What the hell was that?'
At the Tour, you always have some fantastic days and some days where you hit the asphalt. Today was an asphalt day for me.
The solo break or the small break, it's... one of the most glorious ways to win a bike race. It's pretty damn impressive in my mind.
I think we all want to successfully push back the aging process, to deny the aging process. Who among us says, 'Yippee, I'm getting older'?
I am a family man, and I have to find my priorities. During the season, it is to race. During the off-season, it is to spend time with my family.
Chris Boardman was my first teammate and my first roommate. I saw him finish his career with an hour record and thought, 'Yeh, what a way to go out!'
I had a great career. I have no reason to complain. It's the way it goes in nature. You slow down. And I believe I lasted a lot longer than a lot of people.
I want to be remembered as somebody working hard, walking straight in life, most of the time, and just being a down-to-earth person, being loyal and being indestructible.
I'd like to throw Betsey Andreu and Travis Tygart in a wood-chipper. That would be my idea of a good time. Maybe I could get George to come over and help me clean up after.
I gave it everything in the last 20 minutes. I knew that I still had the energy, that I was ahead of the mark. I felt euphoric — it was the last 20 minutes of my sporting career.
Cycling is an endurance sport. You lose your fast-twitch ability as you age, but your endurance peaks when you hit 30. I don't think I really started feeling my age until around 40.
I don't want to have that one year too much, where people actually, behind my back, start smiling at me and pointing fingers at me and go, 'Ah, look, that's Jensie. No, he's not good anymore.'
It is the passion inside me that means I keep going. I love what I do, and I think I am lucky to do it. When I am riding a quiet country road, I hear the birds singing and think, 'I am in my office now.'
One of the reasons I'm so competitive - I mean, I'm not winning much anymore - at my age was because I always worked hard and because we have a level playing field. We don't have motorbikes in the peloton anymore.
I hope I am allowed to say that the reason I am popular is because of the way I am, the way I race, and the way I talk. I am just the old-fashioned, reliable guy, and people always know I am after one thing: 'There is Jens. He will go in the breakaway.'
What would we be without the fans? They're more important than me, because they make our sport great; they make things happen. We put on the show, but if people don't react to it, we are nothing. So, the fans, basically we should roll out the red carpet for them.
I'm happy that the sacrificing, the hard training, the travel, the time being away from the family, is going to stop. So I'm happy; I'm glad about that. But I'm also terrified. Frightened. Because, I mean, in my whole adult life, cycling was the most consistent thing I ever did.
I lost quite a bit of skin on the left side of my body and sustained some deep cuts in my hand and around my knee, but the doctors were able to stitch it all back together. Luckily I didn't hurt my shoulder but I'm now at the point where the only thing on my body which isn't hurting is my bad shoulder.
Firstly, train lots. Secondly, train hard, the harder the better, no shortcuts. They will always come back to bite you when you least expect it. And third, always remember where you come from. Your parents, family, team, coaches, are the ones who will get you to where you are and will always be there for you.
Hopefully I've shown them (fellow cyclists) you just need some self-belief and that you need to take your destiny into your own hands instead of waiting for it. You have to go out and force it. You need to go out and take life, and shape your life and destiny the way you need it. I hope I can pass that message along.
If there's something left in me, it's better to go down fighting. You've got to have a bit of self-belief and confidence in yourself. I might know that I have only a little chance but I'm a good rider and I try to make it happen. You have to give luck a swift kick in the behind so it falls on your side. You have to make your own luck.
My only talent is that I have a so-called big engine. I can attack on successive days - well maybe now not so often - or ride tempo at the front of the peloton for a week. I'm not a climber or a sprinter. Whatever makes the race sticky, fast and difficult is good for me. I'm just a big motor - I think I'm allowed to say that - and a fighter. I'll do whatever it takes to make the race.