8 Sir Chris Hoy on Jason Kenny
Britain’s most decorated Olympian says team sprint trio have come on apace since the Track World Champs
ir Chris Hoy, Britain’s track superstar and most decorated Olympian, believes Jason Kenny could win three gold medals at the Rio Olympics to equal his record haul of six, when the track cycling events begin today.
Kenny is already a triple gold medallist and Hoy believes his former team-mate could double his tally in the sprint, team sprint and keirin at this year’s Games and be the “star of the show”.
“Jason Kenny is one of the riders who has not been in the spotlight at all and there’s a very real chance he could win three gold medals,” Hoy told Cycling Weekly. “Nobody’s even considered it. It has all been about Bradley [Wiggins], Cav [Mark Cavendish] or Laura [Trott], but Jason could be the star of the show.”
Feeding time
Kenny has been criticised for being relatively inactive in the years between Olympics. Former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton has referred to him as “like a bear in hibernation” until the Games come around. However, he won his first world title in three years in March in the sprint and Hoy said Kenny’s experience of performing on the biggest stage would help in Rio.
“He’s got the form; he’s fantastic when it comes to the big race, the one that really takes the nerve, he can just deal with it,” he said. “There’s something about an Olympic year that means he really pulls his finger out and really sharpens his focus.”
Although the team sprint trio of Kenny, Philip Hindes and Callum Skinner could only manage sixth at the Track World Championships in March this year, Hoy — who raced alongside Kenny in the team sprint at the Beijing and London Olympics — said they’ve massively improved in the discipline in the time since.
“I’ve seen the splits, I’ve seen the overall times [in training] and they’re absolutely flying,” he said. “They’ve really worked hard to get that third man sorted out and Callum’s doing incredibly well.”