Cycling: Hoy targets half century of gold medals

Sir CHRIS HOY will line up at the UCI World Cup in London tonight bidding to complete the first leg of a golden treble.

The 35-year-old has amassed 49 World Cup medals in his career – 32 of them gold – but knows that taking his tally beyond the half century will not be easy. With fewer selection restrictions for this weekend’s competition than there will be for April’s World Championships and the Olympics this summer, Hoy is anticipating a tough three days against the world’s top competitors in front of a capacity 6,000 crowd.

He kicks off his schedule with the team sprint, where he will link up with fellow Scot Ross Edgar and current individual sprint world champion Jason Kenny. Hoy will also compete in the Keirin tomorrow before facing Kenny in Sunday’s individual sprint competition. There he will be looking to gain an edge on his rival for the one place up for grabs at the Olympics later this year.

Hoy said: “Past medals and wins count for nothing when you line up against the world’s best in the here and now. It is current form and condition that matters.”