Chris Hoy

 

15th of March, 2006; by Larry Hickmott

Home Nations for Commonwealth Games

 

 

Having been away since January, its been a while since we have seen one of Scotland's most famous athletes, Olympic and Commonwealth Kilometre champion, Chris Hoy. "Its gone really well" he said of his preparation. "I could not have hoped for any more as the training and preparation has been perfect."

"I was looking at my diary recently and can count on one hand the number of sessions I wasn't a 100 per cent. So its been ideal and I can come into this relaxed and quite confident."

One of the most notable things about the Scottish riders is that the sprinters are all on fire which bodes well for the Team Sprint. "We still haven't decided the team yet and have two formations and we'll ride one of those two but it depends on how we get on in the individual events because there is a lot of racing before the Team Sprint."

"So we'll wait and see."

"It's going to be a close fight as the English are going very well and Jamie (Staff) seems to be on really good form since he came back from Sydney. Hopefully, we'll pick the fastest team and do the best ride we can."

Kilometre
As defending champion, I asked if there were any nerves from a rider who appears to handle that side of things really well as he showed in Athens? "Not nerves, no. You just get this anticipation building for the event, excited and looking forward to it. You need a certain amount of adrenaline which comes from that pre race feeling you get but at the moment I am still quite relaxed."

"I just focus on the day's session and get that out of the way and do the same routine as always knowing I'll be there or there abouts on the night."

Asked if he knows where his form is for the kilometre, an event he has had mixed results in over the years. Twice a world champion on top of the Olympic and Commonwealth titles, but also third last year and out of the medals in 2003. "It's hard to gauge on the track but I feel if I am in as good a form as Athens, if not better. And I can draw on the mistakes made in the past and hopefully produce the goods on the night."

Chris also admits its good to be back in Melbourne where he won the World Title in 2004. "Its good for the morale being here and I have a good feeling about the track." Good luck to Chris as he steps up to defend his title on a night when Scotland may well have two riders on the podium with Craig MacLean also a major contender.