Chris Hoy: A Different Mentality

When we last spoke to Chris Hoy he was about to ride his final competitive Kilo and enter into a new phase in his career.

For the majority of the 21st Century Hoy had dominated the Kilometre Time Trial, picking up four World Titles (2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007) along with the small matter of the Olympic title in 2004.

With the Kilo being dropped from the Olympics in 2008, Chris was forced to step back and refocus on his other events with the worrying prospect that perhaps he would not be able to achieve the same kind of dominance.

However in typical Hoy fashion he has transferred his dominance to the Keirin in spectacular style with what looked like relative ease by winning last year’s Keirin Worlds and following that up with victory in the 2007/08 World Cup series.

“I worked a lot more on my speed, tactics and techinique, my riding position on the sprint bike, my timing, my mental approach; in fact just about everything!”

“Physically, being a good kilo rider means you have the potential to turn your hand to quite a few different events if need be, but I think the biggest factor in changing is the mental side.”

In our previous interview Chris commented that his first world titles are the most memorable, consequently how did he feel when he won in Palma?

"I just threw my hands in the air like an idiot!"

“It was so exciting just to be in the final. The keirin was always an event that I loved to watch from the stands as it was so unpredictable and spectacular, so to be in it myself was cool. “

“I knew that the field expected me to go hard as soon as the derny peeled off, but whilst I did go from the gun, it wasn’t a full-on effort. I let Bourgain fight to take the front and just cruised on his wheel till 200m to go, then I hit it hard.”

“When I came into the home straight I just put my head down and drove for the line. I really couldn’t believe it when I crossed the line; I just threw my hands in the air like an idiot! To say that I was pumped up afterwards is an understatement!”

Chris is looking to defend his World Title in Manchester

The only ‘failure’ at the 2007 Worlds (if you can call silver a failure) was the Team Sprint, in which Britain lost to France by 0.002s despite breaking the World Record twice.

Losing an event by such a margin must be extremely demoralising, but how does Chris and the team train for such a situation.

“You train as hard as you can every effort of every session because you know that the margin of victory is so slim.”

“Attention to detail is key; the smallest things can make a difference so there is absolutely no room for sloppiness in your preparation.”

So it’s the morning of a big event how does Hoy prepare for the day ahead…

“Up, shower, breakfast, pack bag and down to the track! Usually the racing starts fairly early in sprinting and keirin racing so there’s not much time to kill, unlike the kilo which is an event usually run in the evening.”

Chris is hoping to be around for the 2014 Commonwealths

With the 2008 Worlds being in Manchester, would winning in front of a home crowd mean more to a rider that has already achieved so much?

“It’s always special to perform in front of a home crowd- whether it’s the nationals, a Revolution meeting or a World Cup- but to have the chance to win a rainbow jersey at home is very exciting indeed.”

“The supporters are very knowledgeable about track racing and appreciate good performances, so the atmosphere is always electric.”

The 2007/08 season will be split into two halves, part one ending in March with the Worlds in Manchester, Part Two ending with the Olympics in August. This could present a dilemma for riders as they need to rebuild their training during the summer leaving little time for rest, recovery and hopefully party following the antics from the Worlds.

“I’ll have an easy ten days then back into base training and shall definitely be racing through the summer as it’s important to keep the competition sharpness, however where exactly I’ll be racing, I’m not sure yet”

Hoy making his trademark attack in the Keirin

The UCI cleverly scheduled one of their World Cup series at the new Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing, which shall host the forthcoming Olympics. Chris took part in the event, winning the Keirin and claiming the Bronze Medal in the Team Sprint.

“The velodrome is a really impressive venue; as good as anywhere I’ve ridden. The bankings are very wide and high, and the straights are very long. The finishing line seems miles away when you come out of the final corner!”

“Beijing as a city is very interesting, like Moscow in many ways. We visited Tianamen Square prior to racing which was well worth it. The people are very friendly and I’m sure they will embrace the games. Most of the major construction work has been done, the stadia are all in place and some of them fairly imposing buildings.”

As we’ve already mentioned Chris won the 2007/08 Keirin World Cup, leading the competition from start to finish, however despite being World Champion the World Cup leaders jersey took precedence over his rainbow jersey, what does Hoy think of this ruling?

“It seems ridiculous to me; basically it infers that the leader’s jersey is more important than being World Champion which is nonsense. Another UCI decision which baffles 99% of the riders they are supposed to represent!”

Chris was third at the 2007 Keirin Nationals

A proud Scot, Chris claimed the Team Sprint National Title as part of the Scottish squad with Marco Librizzi and Ross Edgar. With the recent announcement that Glasgow shall host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland will soon be getting a long sought after 250m indoor track. Although plans to extend the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh could mean the end of Meadowbank track, the current home of Scottish Cycling.

“It would be a disaster for cycling in the east of Scotland. Edinburgh council have supported the sport since 1970 and there’s no question that neither Craig Maclean or myself would be track cyclists now if Meadowbank hadn’t been built. It’s great that Glasgow will have an indoor 250  but we still need a facility in Edinburgh.”

“I plan to go to London 2012 when I’ll be 36, then I’ll decide after that about Glasgow, who knows? Jason Queally is still going strong and he’s in his early fifties”

Chris Hoy Online: www.chrishoy.com

Vote for Chris in the Eurosport Greatest Sportsman of All time: Eurosport

Chris Hoy 2007 Velodrome.org.uk Interview