'Another hurdle, another stepping stone' for Chris Hoy

Published on Tuesday 15 February 2011 16:46

SIR CHRIS Hoy's propensity for habit and routine doesn't just apply to winning, but to winters in the warmth and sunshine of Perth, Australia. Three days ago he returned to the UK from his annual visit Down Under, which should give him just enough time to get over the jet lag before a return to competition in Manchester on Friday.

Hoy admits it's "not ideal" preparation, but also that this weekend's World Cup is slightly lower down his list of priorities than the world championships in Holland at the end of next month. And much lower, of course, than the London Olympics, before which every race represents "another hurdle, another stepping stone."

It's all about London, in other words. But first Hoy has to qualify for what would be his fourth Olympic Games, and his tilt at equalling another 'Sir', Steve Redgrave's, five gold medals. Under new qualifying criteria, which will see only one athlete per country in each discipline, it won't be straightforward for Hoy or indeed any of the cyclists, no matter how decorated, in the formidable British team.

For the past six weeks he has been in Perth with two of the riders he will, effectively, be up against for a place in the British team: Matt Crampton and Jason Kenny. Yet it could be telling that both Crampton and Kenny appear to be prioritising the team sprint over the individual sprint and keirin - perhaps they know better than to take on Hoy, who is 34 but says he is going as fast as ever.

Hoy has also been working hard on team sprint drills. But this weekend in Manchester he will represent the Sky Track Cycling team in the three events in which he is Olympic champion, beginning with the sprint on Friday, continuing with the keirin on Saturday, finishing with the team sprint on Sunday. "It'd be nice for the confidence to perform well, but a gold medal is not necessarily the be-all and end-all. It's all about performance: a fast time and a technically good ride to set the standard for the world championships."

Sunday's team sprint will be interesting, says Hoy. "We did a lot of team sprint practice in Perth. There are so many permutations, but I think Jason, me and Matt (in that order] are getting pretty slick. But Ross (Edgar, the Scottish rider who wasn't in Perth] is still in the picture, too.

"For the other events the only way for me to improve is to race more," Hoy continues. "There's not a lot I can do in training to improve tactically, but this summer I'm going to do a lot more European Grands Prix, a lot more racing, so I'm race prepared going into next winter. It's about doing my homework too: studying videos of your opponents, and knowing that, if I'm up against rider X, whether he likes to go from the front and stall me, or come from the back at speed. And then you have a plan A and a plan B - and a plan C. It's then a case of executing the plan and not making any silly mistakes."

It was just such a silly mistake, of course, that cost Hoy a crack at the European sprint title when, in the championships in Poland last November, he suffered a humiliating defeat to Felix English, riding for the Irish team. Confident he'd opened enough of a gap on the back straight, Hoy eased off completely, only for English - who isn't a specialist sprinter - to stage a late charge, and just pip the Olympic champion on the line. "Immediately afterwards it was awful and I felt such an idiot," Hoy recalls. "The worst thing was that it looks like I was being arrogant, sitting up before I needed to, when actually it was about saving my legs for the next round, of course, but also having respect for my opponent and not wanting to smash them into the ground and make them look stupid."

It's clear that the episode still rankles a little, but equally clear that Hoy is looking forward to the next 18 months, and the countdown to London. Typically, what he most relishes is the preparation. "I haven't been backing off," he said.

"After the worlds I'll have a little break then start up and I'll think, the gloves are off now, and I'll throw everything I've got at London," he continues. "I'm 99.9 per cent sure it's my last Olympics, so I'm really going to throw everything I've got at it, and really commit to this 18-month period between now and London."

So there's a chance - 0.1 per cent, to be precise - that he will continue to Rio de Janeiro in 2016? Hoy laughs off the question; his younger rivals may groan.