Kittel Wins Scheldeprijs in Belgium

Scheldeprijs

Marcel Kittel won the Scheldeprijs race in Belgium for a fourth time after beating Mark Cavendish in a sprint finish.

Cavendish, competing for the Dimension Data team, was also bidding for a fourth victory in the one-day race. The Briton, who won in 2007, 2008 and 2011, was well positioned on the wheel of Kittel entering the finishing straight. Cavendish attempted to round the German but the Etixx-QuickStep rider had enough to hold on and win by little more than a tyre’s-width after a photo finish.

Germany’s André Greipel was third for the Lotto-Soudal team. Kittel’s victory marked his fourth in five attempts at the event, with his run only broken by Alexander Kristoff’s victory in 2015.

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Hoy to Spectate Glasgow World Cup

Sir Chris Hoy will not be competing when the Glasgow velodrome named after him opens with a round of the UCI Track World Cup series in November.

The winner of six Olympic gold medals used Twitter to say he will not be racing at the newly constructed 2014 Commonwealth Games venue.

However, the 36-year-old will be present at the 16-18 November event.

Fellow gold medal winners from London 2012 - Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Dani King - are expected to race.

"For those asking about Glasgow WC in Nov, I won't be racing but definitely will be there spectating," wrote Hoy on the social networking site. He added: "Hopefully will see some of you there!"

Sir Chris became the most successful British Olympian of all time after his triumph in the keirin, with his six golds taking him past rowing great Sir Steve Redgrave's five.

The Scot is unlikely to carry on for a fifth Olympic Games in 2016, but track cycling's greatest-ever sprinter has indicated he will compete in Glasgow in 2014.

"I'm 99.9% sure I won't be competing in Rio," he said after winning his sixth gold medal.

"How can you top this? Glasgow is another question, as that would be the dream ending for me."

The Track World Cup is a qualifying event for the 2013 World Championships and the Glasgow leg will give fans the first opportunity to see the GB Cycling Team in international action after the success of the Olympic Games.

Great Britain won seven track cycling gold medals.

The Sir Chris Hoy velodrome forms part of the £113m Commonwealth Arena close to Celtic Park in the East End of Glasgow.

The indoor arena, which will host badminton in 2014, will have 5,000 seats, while the velodrome will have a permanent capacity for 2,000 seated and 500 standing spectators for the 250m cycle track, which will rise to 4,000 seats at the Commonwealth Games.

Sir Chris Hoy Voices UCI Critique

Sir Chris Hoy hit out at cycling's world governing body on Wednesday after he was denied the chance to compete for three gold medals at the London Olympics. The 36-year-old capped a remarkable Olympic career on Tuesday with his British record sixth gold medal in a dramatic keirinrace. It was Hoy's second gold of a hugely successful Olympics for Britain's track cyclists as they won seven of the 10 events in the velodrome.

But 24 hours after the action wrapped up, Hoy revealed he still harboured some frustration that he could not have added further to his haul ofmedals. Hoy was overlooked for the men's sprint in favour of Jason Kenny – a decision vindicated by the Bolton rider's gold medal and one which the Scot had publicly backed. Hoy, however, believes BritishCycling's bosses should not have been forced to make the call before the Gamesdue to a change in policy from the International Cycling Union (UCI). Following Team GB's dominance in Beijing four years ago the UCI, among other alterations to the Olympic programme, opted to restrict each nation to one rider in the sprint race – which Hoy won in China.

The Scot has previously been outspoken on the matter but after an Olympics which has been marked by memorable inter-country battles – such as between Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake on the track and Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps of USA in the pool – he was moved to make his feelings heard again. "We knew there was only one rider per nation. It was disappointing not just for us but also for the other nations and for the fans," he said. "I think they missed out on a number of top-class competitors in a number of the events.

"Can you imagine a 100m final with only one Jamaican or American runner? Anyway, it happened and we dealt with it and I think we dealt with it well."

Hoy also claimed that Britain's track cycling success had undermined a perceived bid by the UCI to "manipulate" the medal table. The UCI shuffled the events on the Olympic programme – which also involved evening up the number of women's and men's track events at five apiece – after Britain also won seven track golds in 2008.

Further success on the road in London, with Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins winning the time trial, means Team GB's cyclist have never been more dominant.

"It's immensely satisfying," he said.

"It didn't really work out for the UCI in their attempt to manipulate the medal table. To have the seven gold medals on the track and Bradley's and the potentially more success with the BMXers and mountain bikers, it has been fantastic.

"I don't think any of us really believed that we were going to emulate Beijing. we've been blown away by it."

After signing off his Olympic career, which began with gold in the 1km time trial at Athens in 2004, Hoy has called for the funding that has established Team GB's dominance in the velodrome to remain.

"Fifteen years ago the National Lottery funding started and that was the catalyst and starting point for the team," he said.

"Peter Keen had this vision for where cycling was going to go and we all thought he was mad initially when he had this dream to be the best team in the world. For someone like Laura [Trott, double gold medallist] she has only known the team as it is now but for the older riders like myself we remember it when it was run on a shoestring budget. That's why we take so much pride in seeing how far it has come in a short space of time."

London 2012 - Welcome to the Velodrome

Sir Chris Hoy of Great Britain sets a new world record in the Men's Team Sprint Track Cycling semi-final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Velodrome on August 2, 2012 in London, England.

(August 1, 2012 - Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Europe) 

Hoy Proclaims Wiggo as Sporting Great

Sir Chris Hoy has claimed if Bradley Wiggins wins the Tour de France then it will be the "greatest sporting achievement" by a British athlete.

Wiggins is almost certain to become the first Briton to win the Tour on Sunday.

The 32-year-old leads Team Sky team-mate Chris Froome by two minutes and five seconds with Italian Vincenzo Nibali a further 36 seconds back.

"If he does it, I think this will be the greatest achievement by any British sportsperson ever," Hoy said.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist continued: "That's a big claim, but you cannot overstate how hard it is to win the Tour de France.

"There's a reason why no-one from Britain has ever done it before. I still have to pinch myself. It's just unbelievable."

Mark Cavendish won stage 18 of the Tour on Friday, his second stage win in this year's event, as Wiggins maintained his advantage over Froome and Nibali ahead of Saturday's 53.5km contre la montre to Chartres route.

Given Wiggins won the previous time trial in this year's Tour by 35 seconds from team-mate Froome, he will be confident of extending his advantage in the penultimate stage.

Olympic team pursuit gold medallist Geraint Thomas was also full of praise for Wiggins and the Welshman thinks the Team Sky rider's performances will be a boost for British cycling.

He said: "It's unbelievable really, the way he's ridden all year, he's been so consistent. He's ridden phenomenally.

"Like he always does he's delivered the goods and it's just been incredible to watch. I rode Paris-Nice with him and [Tour de] Romandie this year and you can see he's a changed bike rider, he has the confidence and belief and when he's like that there's no stopping him.

"It's great for British sport and I think cycling will continue to grow, it's fantastic for cycling."

Edwards Back Ban Overturn

Former Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards is happy the British Olympic Association's lifetime ban for drug cheats looks set to be overturned.

The BOA expects to lose its legal fight against the World Anti-Doping Association, which says drug-takers should instead receive a two-year ban.

Edwards, who won gold in 2000, said: "Athletes should get a second chance.

"[But] two years is simply not enough. The world needs to unite and introduce four-year bans."

The BOA by-law which bans athletes found guilty of taking drugs from competing at future Olympics has been in place since 1992.

However, Wada has ruled that the BOA's stance is unenforceable, believing athletes should be free to take part in all competitions once their initial suspensions have been served.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) heard arguments from both sides at a hearing in London last month and it confirmed in a statement on Monday that the decision will be published next week.

A ruling in favour of Wada would free the likes of sprinter Dwain Chambers and cyclist David Millar, who have both completed doping bans, to compete in the London Olympics.

However, the BOA has been backed by a number of athletes, including Millar's potential team-mate Sir Chris Hoy and Lord Coe.

"I think it's really a bit of a non-issue because Dwain Chambers has been competing for UK Athletics for the last five years and David Millar has been competing with British Cycling for a large number of years," continued Edwards.

"He was team captain when Mark Cavendish won the World Championships so I don't think there is going to be any issue in terms of incorporating these athletics back into the team."

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Hoy Wins Second Gold at Velodrome

Sir Chris Hoy powered to victory in the individual sprint to win his second gold medal of the Track World Cup at London's Olympic Velodrome.

Hoy beat Germany's Maximilian Levy 2-0 in the final to complete a successful meeting personally that included keirin gold and team sprint bronze.

GB also took men's team pursuit silver, while Laura Trott won omnium bronze.

That left the host nation top of the medals table with four golds, one silver and two bronzes.

“Next time I come back here, hopefully I'll be in much better shape and show them how it's done”Victoria Pendleton

Hoy, 35, lost just one race in four knockout rounds of sprinting on Sunday, coming through 2-1 in a tense battle with France's six-time world champion Gregory Bauge in the quarter-finals.

The reigning Olympic champion looked near his best in the final against Levy, taking the opening race comfortably and blowing the German away down the home straight to seal victory in the second.

"I had a tough day out there," Hoy told BBC Sport.

"I felt it in my legs this morning. I'm really pleased - more than the actual result is the way I rode. I've been making mistakes in the sprint recently but I only made one today. I see this as an important step for the Olympics."

Trott completed an impressive weekend by adding bronze in the six-discipline omnium event to the gold she won in the women's team pursuit on Friday.

"I'm really pleased," said the 19-year-old Londoner. "I was a bit disappointed yesterday with the points race because that let my overall [score] down, but there's still time to work on it so I'm happy with the bronze.

"We are going to do some work on the points race because that's the difference between winning and losing."

The British men's pursuit team of Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Steven Burke and Peter Kennaugh professed themselves satisfied with a time of three minutes 56.330 seconds in their final.

However, Australia's Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis, Alex Edmondson and Michael Hepburn looked mightily impressive as they clocked 3:54.615 - the second-fastest time in history - to confirm their current status as the best in the world.

"We're disappointed because we want to win but, looking at the time, we haven't gone that fast in a while," said Thomas.

"There's a lot for us to work on but the way we got stuck in was great and the crowd here is crazy. It's unbelievable. Without them we would have lost by about 10 seconds."

Asked if he thought they could overhaul the Australians by the Olympics, Clancy said: "I think so. First things first, we never said we were going to set the world on fire here. The Aussies are a force to be reckoned with but I think we've got more to come.

"We need a bit more endurance and a bit more tolerance at the back end of the race, but when we're all focused on the track I think we can go places."

Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish started the final day with hopes of success in the keirin but only Pendleton made the final, and she could only manage fifth place after finding her route blocked in the closing stages.

"I didn't expect to squeeze through that gap, it was a bit naive on my account," said Pendleton. "I really haven't got anything left in the legs. I didn't want to lead out as many of the heats as I had to.

"It's been a positive learning experience. That's what we set out for it to be. I didn't want to put high expectations on myself; mind you it's nice to win but it's not easy to deal with when you're not in peak condition.

"Next time I come back here, hopefully I'll be in much better shape and show them how it's done."

GB MEDALS IN LONDON

GOLD:

Women's team pursuit (Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell, Dani King)

Women's individual pursuit (Joanna Rowsell)

Men's keirin (Sir Chris Hoy)

Men's individual sprint (Sir Chris Hoy)

SILVER:

Men's team pursuit (Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh, Steven Burke)

BRONZE:

Men's team sprint (Ross Edgar, Jason Kenny, Sir Chris Hoy)

Women's omnium (Laura Trott)

Hoy and Rowsell in Gold Rush

Sir Chris Hoy and Joanna Rowsell gave the home fans another memorable night at London's Olympic Velodrome as both secured gold at the Track World Cup.

Four-time Olympic champion Hoy came around the outside on the final bend to edge out Germany's Rene Enders on the finish line and take keirin gold.

Rowsell then beat New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the individual pursuit.

Victoria Pendleton had a less successful evening with fourth place in the individual sprint.

Ben Swift finished sixth in the men's omnium, winning the scratch race to move himself into medal contention before slipping back with an 11th-place ride in the kilo.

And Laura Trott put in an amazing display to win the elimination race and move to third in the women's omnium standings after three races.

The Londoner repeatedly escaped elimination with sprints to the line before out-pacing Canadian world champion Tara Whitten on the final lap.

"That wasn't the way I planned to ride," said Trott, who was part of the winning pursuit team on Friday. "I wanted to ride second wheel but I was just so tired from yesterday, so it was easier to just keep popping people. Day two's always my best day so bring it on."

Hoy, 35, had to settle for bronze in Friday's team sprint and looked like missing out again in the latter stages of the keirin, but the Scotsman's power came to the fore as he took the long route to victory down the home straight.

"I made it hard for myself there," Hoy told BBC Sport. "With half a lap to go I wasn't sure I was going to make it but that crowd, when they see you're going to make that move, it's unbelievable. It's like an Olympics."

He added: "I have been deliberately trying to ride from the back, because if you win from the back and the front then you can deal with any situation.

"There's still a lot of work to be done between now and London but I'll always remember this event. Everybody's on their feet, full of energy, and we're feeding off that. You can almost see the other teams becoming a bit more defensive."

Rowsell made a strong start against Shanks in the pursuit final and held her form as the Kiwi cut the deficit midway through the race, with the Briton going away again in the closing stages to win in 3:32.364.

"I thought I would try to go out fast in order to get my nose out in front," said Rowsell. "I knew I could bring it back home in last kilo. I wound it up with four laps to go."

She added: "There's such a good team spirit, everyone is helping out each other. When I'm out on the track I feel I have the whole squad behind me. I knew it must have been goobecause of how loud it was."

Pendleton and Meares resumed a long-time rivalry in the individual sprint that has included the Briton's victory in the 2008 Olympic final and the Australian's win in last year's world final.

This time Pendleton found triple world champion Meares too strong, losing the deciding race of their semi-final when she gave the Australian a gap to attack and ultimately going down 2-1.

There were surprise results in the two medal races to follow, however, as China's Guo Shuang beat Meares 2-0 for gold, before Wai Sze Lee of Hong Kong saw off Pendleton 2-0 for bronze.

"I think meeting Anna Meares in the semis, we gave each other a bit of battering to be honest," said Pendleton.

"The racing was top quality and at this stage of the season it's quite hard to back up that sort of effort when you haven't really done the training for it."

Meares agreed about the effort taken to win her semi-final, saying: "I think both of us paid for it in the final. I'm really, really pleased with how I raced tonight. It was a hard-fought battle."

And the Australian was delighted to have got a taste of the track on which she will go for Olympic gold in August, adding: "It's the best experience I could have asked for.

"The velodrome is beautiful. I've never heard a crowd make so much noise in my life - it feels like 20,000 people, not 6,000, and is reflective of a country that loves a great sport, and a sport that I'm proud to be a part of."