Cycling: Chris Hoy helps GB to a bronze on big night at Olympic venue

A line-up that Hoy had described as “experimental” saw him join his fellow Scot, Ross Edgar, and Jason Kenny, as they qualified fourth in the morning behind Germany, France and Australia.

Hoy identified “a couple of very minor glitches” during their qualifying ride, but they were ironed out in time for the evening. And the atmosphere, as they lined up against old rivals Australia, seemed to lift the trio, as it lifted all of the home riders on what proved a memorable night for British cycling.

In fact, Hoy and co found themselves to be in the shadow of their female counterparts, with the British trio of Laura Trott, Dani King and Jo Rowsell setting a new world record in winning gold in the team pursuit, and Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish matching that double achievement in the team sprint. What had earlier threatened to be an evening of Australian domination turned instead into a triumphant occasion for the home nation, raising the rafters on the new, 6,000-capacity venue.

In the team sprint, with Hoy and Kenny relatively secure in their positions, all the pressure seemed to be on Edgar, given a rare opportunity as man one, the position GB has struggled to fill since Jamie Staff’s retirement after the Beijing Olympics. In the intervening period, their rivals, in particular Germany and France, have threatened to disappear over the horizon. In which context, the closeness of the top four teams – only 0.219 seconds separated the winners, Germany, from Britain – offers more encouragement than the bronze medal.

Yet Edgar, who recorded two opening laps of 17.7 seconds, was not satisfied. He had been aiming for 17.5. “I’d be lying if I said I was happy,” he said. “I’ve done better than that so I know it’s in there.” He has struggled with injury in recent months, but said he wasn’t hindered by pain. “It was just my form,” said Edgar, who faces competition for the third spot in the squad from Matt Crampton.

After beating Australia for bronze, Hoy hailed the reception in the velodrome as unlike any he has experienced. “I don’t think there’s been a track anywhere I’ve raced in the world that had that kind of support. To ride with that wall of noise behind you is just incredible.”

On the performance, he said: “I would say it’s a solid-bordering-on-pleasing performance. When you look at what the Germans did to win the gold medal, I think we’re only about a bike-length or so behind them. We’re not making excuses.

“The second ride was better. We’ve had some pretty mediocre performances in the last year or so, but this bodes well for the world championships and the Olympics.

“It was an experimental line-up and I think it’s still very much to play for, because we’ve got Matt in the wings.”

Of the “glitches,” Hoy said they owed to his over-exuberance in the first round. “I smashed through a bit hard in the first ride, when I took over from Jason for the final lap. You’re better to float through, to make the effort more controlled, but I smashed it a bit too hard.”

Even at 36, it seems, he can still be caught up in the atmosphere of the occasion. And it was only the first night of a busy weekend for Hoy, who races today in the keirin, and tomorrow in the sprint, where one of his main rivals – here at the World Cup and in the battle for the single spot in the GB team for the Olympics – is likely to be Kenny.