Mark Cavendish: Cycling is like a form of torture
World Champion cyclist Mark Cavendish says cycling can be like a form of torture and endurance races like the Tour de France "might be a bit sadistic" but he loves it.
He is known as the "fastest man on two wheels" because of his sprinting ability. It has catapulted him to 25 stage wins at the Tour De France and a road cycling World Championship.
He tells HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur he "physiologically can't win the Tour de France" but his short powerfully built body is ideally suited to the sprint finishes on some of the stages.
You can watch the full interview on BBC World News on Monday 16 December at 14:30 and 20:30 GMT and on the BBC News Channel at 00:30 on Tuesday 17 December.