The Hour

With less than 1,000 days to go until the Olympic torch is carried to London, Chris Hoy’s injury setback, which ruled him out of March's World Championships in Poland, has made him more determined to stay at the top of his game.

“I had a great time after Beijing doing all the celebrity stuff and all the exciting stuff but really, I’m all about the cycling,” Hoy said. “That’s what motivates me and pushes me on.

“I got back into it and started to get back into form but I had a race in February in Copenhagen and had quite a bad crash there.

“I think that just brought it home how much I missed it and how much I wanted to continue onto London to hopefully win some more gold medals.”

Proving he is still worthy Olympic gold standard at last weekend’s UCI World Cup in Manchester, the Scot flew around the 200 metres track in a record 9.869 seconds in qualification for the sprint as well as making the fastest final lap ever in the team sprint.

“I went faster than I have ever gone before so I am still improving and I still have the same enjoyment.

“A lot of it comes down to my team mates, the young guys coming though - I’m 33 now and I’ll be 36 in London – some of them are 19, 20, 21 and they are improving really quickly.

“So if you don’t keep trying to defend your position and keep pushing yourself on and trying to improve, they are going to take your place.

“In a way, it is them that is pushing me on and hopefully going to keep the success coming.”

As well as setting his sight on the 2012 Olympics, the four-time Olympic champion is also chasing the current world champions, claiming the French are ‘running scared’ after opting out of sending their top team to the World Cup.

To keep up to date, visit www.chrishoy.com