Double Olympic gold medallist will decide whether to retire or not in coming months
Currently on a break from racing after an Olympic campaign which saw him win gold in the team sprint and the Keirin, Chris Hoy has said that while he will return to competition in January, that he will miss February’s world championships.
He also stated that he will decide in the coming months if he will continue in the sport or not.
Hoy has had a stunning career which has earned him six Olympic gold medals, ten world championship titles and made him the most successful British Olympian of all time. However he’s now 36 years of age and while one more Olympic campaign is not out of the question, the odds of that happening are less than certain.
“I’ll make a decision sooner rather than later by Spring next year,” the Scot confirmed today, while attending the track World Cup in Glasgow held in a velodrome named in his honour. “I’ll be getting back into training and racing in January in Australia to see how the body copes.
“I will definitely not be competing at the Worlds as the rest of the guys have been training flat out, especially the younger guys not competing at the Olympics and trying to make the Worlds team.”
Hoy’s team-mate Jason Kenny said recently that he had felt a post-Olympic blues, with the Briton struggling to refocus after winning gold in the individual and team sprint at the Games. His experience mirrored that of Bradley Wiggins, who also suffered depression after a dominant 2004 Olympics.
However Hoy said that he readjustment after the Games hasn’t been an issue for him, with him being too busy with other things to experience any come-down afterwards. He believes that the majority of the Great Britain squad are not having issues.
“I don’t think it is affecting the team. With the mental and physical effort that everyone gives, there is no time to think about the past but focus on the future,” he said. “Every minute of the day was planned out before the Games so it took some time to adjust to having some free time after London 2012, and the body took a long time to recover too.”
Part of his physical and mental recovery entailed a complete break from the sport; he followed a previous pattern in doing this, and admits that it has helped him remain enthusiastic. He believes that it has also enabled him to remain in the sport for so many years, with his longevity due to periods of intense activity interspersed with quieter times.
“After every Olympics, I like to take time off so at this time of year I always miss being on my bike. It’s a weird feeling walking into the Velodrome and not competing, and not having the adrenaline and competitive head on. To be here just as a race fan,” he explained.
Hoy has been doing just one session a week, although he said that he’s trying to squeeze a week’s training into that burst of activity. Now he’s ready to start ramping things up.
“I’m looking forward to getting back into the groove and get back into the routine in Australia,” he explained. “I miss the training as I now have so much spare time and you start feeling terrible and lethargic and run down and I definitely want to get back into some form of exercise and routine.
“When I eventually retire I will definitely still continue to cycle on my bike and keep exercising because it has been such a large part of my life for so many years.”