He readily acknowledges that winning the Tour did not come easily to him. "I hated it last year. I tried to shy away from it. I didn't like doing team presentations at races, being introduced as the winner of the Tour. I felt quite embarrassed by it. I don't know why that was. I think a lot of it was to do with the Lance Armstrong stuff.
"After the Lance thing broke it just got horrible and that affected how I came back to Europe [in 2013]. There is a whole knock-on effect in the rest of your life. When I did win the Tour I felt I was feted more in the UK for being an Olympic gold medallist ... Then I come back to Europe to race and they're not interested in the Olympic gold, it's about being the winner of the Tour de France – here he is.
"The Lance stuff was so raw, people were so angry about it. I felt like I was constantly being judged, I felt I'd had enough of it, it was constant. Now a year on, not having done the Tour [in 2013], all that side of it has settled down, now I'm starting to embrace it more, that I've won the Tour de France" – and here, there is an extra emphasis on the W-word as he speaks – "and I can carry myself with a bit of pride. You know what? I've won the Tour de France and now I feel ready to talk about it."