Hoy Fronts Up Like a Good Knight Should

Fair play to Sir Chris Hoy, who was embarassed by a German in the early stages of the men's sprint at the world track cycling championships in Copenhagen yesterday. The four-time Olympic and ten-time world champion was first subjected to a four-minute delay while Robert Forstemann had his handlebars looked at, and then was caught cold by the German who broke with the usual practice of playing cat and mouse in the sprint by blasting off from the start. Hoy, in his first global competition since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, found himself 30 metres down but came to within a tyre of catching Forstemann as they crossed over the finish line. It meant the Scot had to race in a highly competitive repechage against last year's world silver medallist and, although he won the race, it meant he then faced the defending world champion, Gregory Bauge, in the quarter-final, having taken part in an extra, and exhausting race. Hoy lost in the decider of the best of three but laid the blame afterwards fully on himself. "My legs were tired from the repechage but I've only got myself to blame because it was my defeat in the previous race that put me there," he admitted afterwards. "I have no problem with what Forstemann did. I'm sure the delay put him off more than me. It was a clever move by him and I've never had it done to me before. I'll make sure it won't happen again." I bet he will. Gracious in defeat Hoy knows that the big fish to catch is another Olympic title in London, in just 18 months time. I fancy he will be the man to beat by then and in losing yesterday Chris Hoy will have taken a step closer to realising his dream.