Sir Chris Hoy and Matt Crampton

Cracking photo of Sir Chris Hoy and Matt Crampton giving it full gas in the sprint.  Track sprinting requires immense power and huge watts being laid down.  Frames on track sprinters bikes need to be able to withstand around 2000W in power travelling through them, so a huge degree of stiffness and minimal flex is order of the day.

Photo courtesy of CycleSportPhoto's.com.

Sir Chris Hoy Photo

Love this photo of Sir Chris Hoy taken by Rick at CycleSportPhoto's.com. It's a familiar sight, the famous Scot celebrating victory, however some would say that the previously unbeatable Hoy is now fair game.

Beaten to the line by Australian - Shane Perkins - in today's Keirin final at the Track Cycling World Championships, Hoy shouldn't be written off just yet. He's a formidable competitor, working to a plan for London 2012.

You can't fail to be impressed by the progress the Australians are continuing to make on the track, so Team GB will be hard at work when they get back to Manchester, working on those marginal gains.

There's been a lot of talk that the track at Apeldoorn, hasn't suited everyone, particularly Hoy and his riding style, so not too much should be written in to this weeks results. As he said in one of his post race interviews, there are six major cycling events between now and London 2012 and he should expect to show improvement at them all. That's the spirit.

Arriving in London next year on a track he helped design, I'm sure Sir Chris will have his eyes firmly on medals and re-instating himself as the daddy of the Keirin.

Sir Chris Hoy Photo

With the 2011 UCI Track Cycling World Championships well underway in Apeldoorn, we can all dream of what could of been if we only carried on cycling past our teens. Perhaps we were the next Sir Chris Hoy in the making? If only...

Still, if you're starting out on the track and you're wondering what your position on the bike needs to look like, look no further than this photograph of the guvnor himself. Looks easy enough, strap in, crouch down and pedal as fast as you can. This triple gold medal business sounds easy, now where's my bike.....

Photo provided by Rick at CycleSportPhoto's.com.

Sir Chris Hoy - Great Photo

As you do more Sportives, you get to meet more and more people out and about.

One person I've recently met is photographer - Rick Robson - of CycleSportPhotos.com.

Rick was taking the photo's on the recent Polocini Sportive (previous write up here).

He has very generously burned me a load of photo's to share on the blog, here' s the first. I'll publish more over the coming weeks.

Iconic track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, sits quietly at the edge of the velodrome at one of the Revolution series. He could quite easily be sitting in the queue at a spaceport in that outfit.

I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Chris in May 2010, he's an absolute gentleman and every inch the professional. This is a cracking shot.

Should you want photo's taken of your club or yourself out and about, then please do contact Rick at enquiries@cyclesportphotos.com. I think it's mighty generous of him to share these photo's for our enjoyment.

Sir Chris Hoy - Fan Flakes

Photo's are in from the nice folk at Jaguar and they managed to capture one of me showing Sir Chris my mocked up "Fan Flakes" box. Who needs photoshop when you've got scissors, a bran flake box and Pritt stick!

Meeting Sir Chris Hoy

I'm very fortunate to be one of around twelve business leaders to be invited to a lunch with Sir Chris Hoy in Manchester on the 20th May. This has been organised by the great folk at Jaguar as part of their Manchester celebrates Jaguar month. Sir Chris Hoy is an ambassador for the brand.

Co-incidentally, I happen to be reading his auto-biography - Heroes, Villains and Velodromes - on a short break with the wife. As a result, I've got my questions for him all teed up. I'll share them with you in advance, or - just in case you're reading Chris - you're fully prepared!

1. What role did Craig Maclean play in your development as a rider? Seems that both of you fed off of each other.
2. 1996 World Championships in Russia. Three of you are there. No mechanics. No coach. No psychiatrist. You have a broken arm. What did you learn?
3. There were times when you were riding for Team GB, yet signing on the dole, due to the lack of funding in the sport. How did that make you feel?
4. Tell me about the impact of world championships in Copenhagen and the psychological impact of beating Tournant bought you?
5. What is the single biggest thing that working with Shane Sutton taught you?
6. You are only 1 of 2 people to go under one minute for the kilo on your record attempt in Bolivia. Any unfinished business with this record?
7. Mark Cavendish rejected the science of stats and psychologists whilst with British Cycling. What have you gained from working with Steve Peters?
8. What are the "known unknowns" for London 2012?
9. In the Palma 2007 World Championships the Australian coach was quoted as saying "We've had a righteous kick up the arse." How do you feel the Australians have reacted to that subsequently?
10. What can business leaders learn from track cyclists? (Ex track cyclist Denise Hampson has some interesting views on this).
11. What role has Chris Boardmans "secret squirrel" technology had in your performance as an athlete? Cycling is a sport which goes hand in hand with an athletes individual capability combined with advancements in bike technology.
12. What psychological impact did the UCI decision to stop the kilo event after the 2004 Athens Olympics have on you?
13. If one of the original Kuwahara ET BMX bikes came up on e-Bay, would you bid for it? (Anybody remember that? I used to own one!).
14. Your parents have followed you all over the world and encourage you from an early age. What impact did this have on your life and your ultimate success?
15. If someone said the name "Steven McNeil" to you, seconds before a big race, what feelings would that conjour up? (You need to read the book to understand that one).