Wiggins: I knew from the first pedal rev that I was on it

“It’s moments like this that help you win the Tour – keeping your cool in a pressure situation. Everyone said that I cracked yesterday in the press conference – but I didn’t, I was just speaking my mind… I make no apologies except maybe for the language [I used] but I love this race, I love this sport and it’s moments like today that make all the hard work worthwhile.
“I’m just extremely confident in the work we’ve done and in what I have to do when I go out there. I don’t want to let the moment get to me. As I’ve said, the Olympics is an incredible school for all that – I’ve had all those Olympic finals on the track and in team pursuiting and stuff... but I’m very good at what I do, which is the time trials. I know how to do it. I ride my own race. I don’t get distracted by times, and time checks.
“The goal is to wear the yellow jersey in Paris. That’s what we’ve trained to do. You can be choosey about when you take the jersey; ideally we’d take it in the last time trial, one day before Paris but it’s not always possible to decide when to take the jersey. It was an incredibly proud moment to take it as well [after stage seven], so this is another day down – we’ll put it behind us and enjoy a nice rest day tomorrow and then the race goes on. It’s not going to be easy, there’s going to be a few more ups and downs in this Tour but we’re certainly well positioned.
“I had a great day today. I knew from the first pedal rev that I was on it. Everything felt fantastic. I kept cool and that type of race is my forte. I was really focussed on it and was relaxed for most of the day so it’s good.
“I don’t expect anything in this sport. I just concentrate on what I’m doing. I try not to predict... because then you can only be disappointed or surprised.
“It is what it is – another day down. Today is just one day in the Tour de France and I just happened to end it in a fantastic position. This is the stuff of dreams, this is what the Tour is all about. The noise when I rolled off the ramp was incredible even compared to some of the Olympic finals I was in... it’s brilliant isn’t it? It’s what every kid dreams of doing: winning the Tour.”