Chris Hoy - Olympic champions of the future will be lost if velodrome is not replaced

Published on Friday 27 June 2008 15:42

WE'RE JUST weeks away from the Olympics and I know there will be great expectations on the British track cycling squad to bring back medals from Beijing. It really doesn't get any bigger than the Olympics and for all of us this is what we have been working for, we're on the final preparation stages of a training programme geared to being in peak condition for this event.

It's great to have a strong Scottish contingent in the team too, with Craig MacLean hopefully there in the team sprint and Ross Edgar also having a good chance of bringing home a medal. It's testament really to the expertise of a number of individuals who have helped to identify and develop talented cyclists in Scotland over a number of years.

Sadly, one key ingredient in that success will not be a part in Scottish cycling's future. The velodrome at Meadowbank is where it all began for me and countless other Scots when it came to getting a first taste of track cycling. Over the past 10 years, the national velodrome at Manchester has been the focal point for elite athletes, but Meadowbank has continued to play its part in Scotland.

Although Meadowbank, which was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games, may be showing signs of wear and tear, it has been continually maintained and repaired and is still in good enough condition to train and compete, so it is a shame to see the city planners decide to call in the bulldozers.

Of course, Glasgow will get a velodrome for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but so far rumours of Edinburgh getting a replacement facility are just that – rumours.

My big concern is that once Glasgow is built, Meadowbank will be demolished and the chance to keep the Edinburgh Racers club going will be in jeopardy.

Without the grassroots introduction to the sport, there will be a whole generation of kids that won't have the opportunity to try out track cycling and one or two could have gone on to become Olympic or world champions.

If Meadowbank hadn't existed there is no question that I wouldn't be where I am today (or Craig MacLean for that matter). And to expect a kid of 12, who is just trying out cycling for fun, to get his parents to take him through to Glasgow and back twice a week is unlikely. Today's elite riders will travel but what about the future champions?

And it is still a huge concern that there will be this gap between losing Meadowbank and the Glasgow velodrome opening when Scotland will have no facility. It seems unbelievably short-sighted. What are riders supposed to do, travel 250 miles to Manchester and back? That's not realistic.

The future of the sport depends on there being a facility and I fear for the future of Scottish cycling. There is expertise in Edinburgh that's been built up over 40 years and that will all be lost if Meadowbank isn't replaced. But it is politicians and not sportspeople who make these decisions, and sometimes it is a shame that we do not have more of a voice.

On an Olympic level, there is a chance that I could have more of an influence on some of those types of decisions as I have been selected as the British nominee to the Athletes' Commission, a body with full IOC membership which will be elected by the competitors in Beijing.

Four athletes of the 22 that have been put forward will go on to this committee. There are some very high profile athletes in there, Grant Hackett the Australian swimmer and tennis players Amlie Mauresmo for France and Justine Henin for Belgium, for example. Matthew Pinsent ran in Athens as the British representative and he didn't get on so it's not like you just turn up and get elected. But if I do get on the commission, I will be able to give the British a voice and also to give the cyclists' perspective on things.

The Athletes' Commission gives us an opportunity to be proactive in a number of major issues, such as the fight against doping in sport, and it would be great to have the opportunity to be directly involved in that.