Ed Clancy team sprint debut impresses Hoy

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Sir Chris Hoy has backed Great Britain teammate Ed Clancy to continue in the team sprint after a ‘brilliant’ debut ride in the event at the Glasgow Track World Cup.

Clancy, a two-time Olympic gold medallist in the team pursuit, joined London 2012 team sprint champions Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny at the velodrome which bears Hoy’s name. The 27-year-old took on the man three position which Hoy successfully occupied at the Beijing and London Games where Great Britain went undefeated.

The trio collected silver on the first day of competition in Glasgow behind Germany in a time of 44.175 as Clancy, who has only been training with the sprint setup in the build-up to Glasgow, put in a time of 13.540 for his final lap.

“Brilliant. He's not really had that long to get into the team sprint groove,” Hoy responded when asked his thoughts on Clancy’s effort.

"Brilliant. He's not really had that long to get into the team sprint groove. He did a solid last lap."

Sir Chris Hoy on Ed Clancy's team sprint debut

“To get on the wheel, even at 17.7, which wasn't blistering by Phil's standards was still pretty quick – a lot quicker than a team pursuit start. He did a solid last lap,” added Hoy, who was speaking at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome which will host the track cycling at the Glasgow 2012 Commonwealth Games.

British Cycling Performance Director Dave Brailsford echoed Hoy’s praise, adding that Clancy could potentially ride both the team sprint and team pursuit though that decision could be made closer to the Rio Olympics.

“It was a good ride,” Brailsford assessed. “He'd have to progress to a certain level and make it a genuinely viable medal winning ride for him in Rio in order to pursue it, otherwise he'd have to go back [to the team pursuit].

“I think [riding both], that's what’s in Ed's mind. When you look at that the whole period of exploring that option it is great because it keeps him training, it keeps him motivated, it gets him through these next 12 months.

“As you move closer to Rio you'll be able to narrow it back down and say is it a medal winning option or not.”

Hoy himself will not compete in any major competitions this season, including next year’s track world championships in Minsk, Belarus. Great Britain’s most successful ever Olympian has returned to training in Manchester and will travel to Perth in December for a training camp as he considers whether to continue to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

He will make an appearance at the Six Days of Rotterdam from 3-8 January next year with Jason Kenny.

"I'll try to make it sooner rather than later; I don't want to leave it too late,” the 36-year-old said on the decision. “I reckon I'll know by spring next year, having been away to Perth, done a bit of training, a little bit of racing in January and then getting back into it then.

“I'd be able to see whether my body's dealing with the training in the way that I'd hope.

"There will be no major competitions this season. The guys have been training flat out. Not Jason [Kenny] and Phil [Hindes] but the younger guys trying to make the worlds team that are still in one piece. We've got Callum Skinner that's got a broken collarbone, Lewis Oliva that crashed [in the keirin], Jason crashed [in the keirin] and Phil crashed [in the sprint].

"If we can get a team that's all in one piece, I'm sure they'll do fine.”