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that it would take me half an hour to get downstairs. I would literally have to wait to walk around a bit to warm up slowly. I could barely hop around. And that same day I would still have to go training.

“I wanted to be a hands-on dad and that was impossible. I am 32 now and knew that by 40 I wouldn’t be able to play with my children at all.

“So I decided to retire at a time where people still associate me with winning, which is what I want.”

But Greg says he will put his all into competing as a cyclist professionally now. And if that doesn’t work, TV is the goal. As well as taking part in events like today’s at the launch of Mission Impossible: Fallout on DVD, where he is recreating Tom Cruise’s epic 18ft leap.

“I am excited to see how this goes. I have never cycled in a velodrome, never been on a fixed-wheel bike. But the one thing I have is the ability to produce power and speed.

“And I enjoy the challenge and the competitiveness. When the idea was put to me whether I wanted to give it a go I couldn’t wait. But I do want to be in shape to give it my best shot. So next year that is the aim.

“Rebecca Romero is a bit of an inspiration to me because she was a rower who switched sports into cycling and did well at it. “Then I look at someone like Laura Trott who is amazing, she had a baby and then came back to it and is still dominating. “Cycling is an incredibly difficult sport to do well in, but equally in the UK we seem to know the right formula to succeed in it. I will try for the Tokyo Olympics, but who knows. There is a risk to changing sports but for me I just think, why not?

“I have a whole life ahead of me. Acting, broadcasting, more sports. I will give anything a go.” Mission: Impossible – Fallout is available to Download & Keep and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD from Paramount Home Media Distribution.