CHRIS HOY'S first show of emotion came as he slowed to a halt on the home straight and threw his arms around his coaches, Jan Van Eijden and Iain Dyer.
It was telling that he made for them first – it was also the first time he'd been able to talk to them in hours.
With Jason Kenny also in the final, the two sprint coaches had made a pact that they would help neither.
Such was the division of l
abour that Van Eijden led Hoy to the line for the first heat, with Dyer shepherding Kenny; then they swapped roles for the second heat.
"We spoke about it briefly last night," said Dyer. "We dared to dream that they both might be in the final together, so Jan and I said to each other: 'If both make it, we'll take turns taking them to line.'
"We weren't going to say anything, just shake hands, wish them the best of luck, and that was it."
Dyer insisted that he didn't know which of his two sprinters might win. "I knew it was going to be the best race of the series, and so it proved," he said. "It was the closest by far. Jason was the only guy capable of stretching Chris today, but Chris … what a great champion he is."
In targeting the treble, the big challenge came between Saturday night's keirin and Sunday morning's sprint qualifying. "The crunch came with the keirin and sprint qualifying the next day," explained Dyer.
"That was always going to be the pinch point in the programme, because with anti-doping and press conferences on Saturday night, after the keirin, it was really hard to get a good night's sleep and get the food in that you need to.
"I had no doubts at all that he was capable of it. I can honestly say that. Chris's level of conditioning as an athlete is so, so high, it's immense – it's something all his training for (his previous event] the kilo has given him.
"But I'm surprised on two levels," added Dyer. "I've been surprised that we've lifted ourselves by the amount we have. We always knew there was a little bit more to come, and they've shown improvement over the summer, but I'm surprised at the scale of it.
"I'm also surprised that some other nations didn't even match their world championships performance, let alone show progression."
Van Eijden, himself a former world sprint champion, is the man who has helped Hoy hone his tactical ability, while Dyer helps him with his training programme.
Physically, said Dyer, Hoy has every chance of being competitive in London in four years.
"We have to thank the UCI for making the kilo defunct. It's proven to be an absolute rebirth of the guy. As a sprinter with a touch of the kilo rider about him, he's invincible.
"He can absolutely go to London," said Dyer. "We've shown with Jamie (Staff, who's 35] that we can do that.
But there are lots of young guys and girls coming through – more Jason Kennys."
The full article contains 532 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
