Chris Hoy Talks Olympic Success - page 2

5 months ago 23rd Jun 10:56

It's quite bizarre for a fairly obscure sport like cycling to be thrust into the public eye and the whole team are now in demand for various things so it's really really exciting.

- Now you have had time to look back over your achievements how was you Beijing experience?

I don't think it could have been any better from a performance point of view I think it went to ideal scenario and it's not often that happens, particularly when you are doing more than one event, so to do it under that pressure and the expectations of an Olympic Games is fantastic.

I can look back now and realise how far reaching the team's success, and not just the cycling team, we came home to the most incredible reception. I have been to three Olympic Games and there was excitement after Sydney and after Athens but nothing like it was after Beijing.

We came back and people in the street knew who we were and huge crowds that turned out in London and huge crowds in Edinburgh, I had an open top bus ride with three other Scottish Olympic medalist and fifty five thousand people turned out on one street, we never expected that.

That's really the biggest thing the impact that it has had on the British public and the way that they got behind the Olympic team.

- And you have mentioned Sports Personality and the knighthood so how are you dealing with the attention?

It's quite odd at first as I never used to get recognised now I get recognised in all kinds of places like the supermarket and airports. And people don't always know who you are right away and they will just stare at your face, so you could be in a restaurant and someone will be staring over,  that can be unsettling at times but on the whole it's really nice and everyone that I have spoken to has been so positive and so kind.

- What was it like meeting the Queen?

She wasn't the one that did the knighthood but I met her after the Olympics, we had a reception with the Olympic team at Buckingham Palace, she seemed very knowledgeable about cycling and the whole Olympic Games in general.

Price Charles was great to, my mum received an MBE the same day that I got my knighthood, so he was chatting about her and then about London and the Olympic Games coming up it was really nice.

- How did you get into cycling in the first place?

Just like all kids I wanted a bike when I was younger and just as I started cycling the BMX bug kicked in and I desperately wanted a BMX and then I wanted to start racing and that's how I got into competitive cycling. Then eventually I tried mountain biking before moving onto the track.

- You spend most of your time at the Manchester Velodrome how important has that been to your development?

It's been crucial to me and the whole team because until the Velodrome was built there was no indoor facility in the UK so we had nowhere to train in the winter months. The tracks are so steep that if they get wet you can't ride on them so you can turn up at the track, get warmed up and then it chucked it down with rain and you had to make alternative arrangements.

So to have a facility where you can train twelve months of the year and guarantee you will get a session done that was the first step towards the British team, and myself, becoming successful.

- What programmes have been put in place to make Great Britain the dominating force in cycling?

There are all kinds of things, obviously there's the stuff at the elite level to try and encourage people to develop the talent from the highest level and take it one step further to win gold medals.

But it's more about getting young people to get involved and get on their bikes and to get as many people involved in cycling as possible, by doing that you have more chance of people popping out at the top.

There are events such as the Skyrides, there are four city events in the UK this year, and we are hoping for tens of thousands of people at each event just encouraging people to come down and get on their bike and to ride in a safe environment. Once we do this then we can start talent spotting and develop them.

- And while we are talking about getting active what does you fitness regime involve?

Normally it's between five and six days a week and on the rest I normally just go out for about an hour on the bike for a gentle ride, it acts like a recovery day. The training days are usually a two hour gym session in the morning followed by a three hour session in the melodrama in the afternoon and then a gentle road ride just as a gentle active recovery in the evening.

- After Beijing you took some time off the bike so are you back in training now?

Yeah, I had a crash in February so I had ten weeks off the bike because of that, I have really been working hard to get back to full fitness since then, I've been back about a month. I'm just working hard and balancing all the various commitments that I have and really trying to get ready for when the season starts and I will be back to full fitness and ready to go again.

- Many kids will have been inspired to get involved in cycling after the Olympics so have you any advice as to how they can get involved?

The first thing is to enjoy it really don't take it too seriously and have fun, ride your bike as often as you can and make the most of it. But then if you have any ambition to get further then you can contact British cycling on britishcycling.org.uk or getonyourbike.co.uk, which will give youngsters advice on how to make the most out of riding their bikes.

- Are you hoping to be in London in 2012? And what do you hope will come out of the Olympics for your self and the country in general?

Yes, absolutely that is the main objective to hopefully defend my titles. For myself I hope to just replicate Beijing and for the country, and for London, it's a chance to show what a fantastic place that it is, host the greatest show on earth and show how well we can do it?

- Finally what's next for you?

Just more training really I'm trying to get back into it and get ready for the beginning of the season.

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

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