The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror.
Eddy MerckxRead
You had to be strong in the head... training, training and training. That is the only way, even if you have big talent.
Interpretation
Strength of mind and consistent training are essential for success, even for those with great talent.
Eddy Merckx emphasizes the importance of mental strength and the need for relentless training in any pursuit, including sports. He suggests that talent alone is not enough to achieve greatness; rather, it is the combination of a strong mindset and persistent practice that leads to success.
In practice
Use this quote at a sports team meeting to inspire athletes to focus on their training regimen.
The day when I start a race without intending to win it, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror.
It's not like at university where you graduate. Every cyclist must start again. At the end of the season you know if you are good or not.
Cycling is a sport of the people. How many people in the world have never been on a bike? Not many.
I do not want to continue cycling until I am 35. I want to make something else out of my life, too. There are other things besides a bike and racing.
I have decided to give up competition. I cannot train properly for the Tour de France which I had hoped to ride for the last time as apotheosis to my career. Doctors are forbidding me to ride anymore in high level competition and I bow to them.
I was a more aggressive rider than Armstrong. I would attack more often. He waits for the other guys, then counter-attacks.
Every time I've gotten myself into trouble, it's because I'm choosing a project based on a long-term career goal as opposed to something that speaks to me at the moment.
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.
I will remove from my vocabulary such words and phrases as quit, cannot, unable, impossible, out of the question, improbable, failure, unworkable, hopeless, and retreat; for they are the words of fools.
Second place is meaningless. You can't always be first, but you have to believe that you should have been - that you were never beaten - that time just ran out on you.
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk.
I decide my future. I decide what I want to do. Nobody else. If I decide this will be my last year, maybe it is. If I decide it will be my last contract, I decide that. Nobody else. So I will decide when the moment is there.
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