Chris Hoy Quotations

We're expecting to go home with some medals.

I always look forward to Revolution as the racing and atmosphere with the crowds is unique. The 500m TT in front of the home crowd always gets that bit more out of you so it will be very special.

I went really hard, I didn't feel so much pressure.

Sprinters now have nothing apart from the sprint and keirin, two very similar events,

We'll go from best mates to rivals, which can be a bit odd.

This will all eventually have to be dealt with and confronted. It will take people a long time to accept that we are at the limits of growth.

Two different nights, two different events. You can never make up for things, but tonight was special. You have the lows, and it puts everything in perspective, but if you win all the time it begins to get boring . . .

Cycling has brought me a lot of pleasure and, being a Scot, I know how lucky we are to have beautiful scenery and quiet roads to enjoy by bike.

The work's done, you turn up on the night and do your best - I'm as well prepared if not better prepared than I was before the Athens Olympics.

There is now no incentive for any youngster to enter the sport.

I listen to a variety of stuff on my iPod: Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Public Enemy, Foo Fighters, anything that gets my adrenalin flowing.

I worked closely with Steve Peters, the British Cycling team's psychologist, and we came up with a strategy of dealing with the pressure. It basically involved displacing the negative thoughts with visualisation. Not a complicated technique, but very effective if done properly. I just kept running through the race in my head over and over so that I wouldn't let the distractions around me put me off.

I don't tend to listen to music in training, except maybe the radio in the gym. I do use music prior to racing though; it helps to fire me up plus it's good for blocking out the distractions around me.

Even when you feel as though everything is 100% it can still go wrong on the night (like in Melbourne!) so you never know for sure that you're going to do the performance you expect.

The support is absolutely crucial. If you have the right people helping you in the lead up to a major event, then you know when you're lining up to start the race you have them there with you, willing you on. And I'm not only referring to the coaches, mechanics, physios, administrators, but also family and friends.

Training can be monotonous, and it is hard work, but you never lose sight of why you are doing it. Every single effort of every single session counts in the months and years leading up to a big event.

When you're on your own you have control over most of the variables involved in the preparation and the race itself, whilst in a team event you are only a part of the overall picture. The real upside of being part of a team is the fact that when you're successful in a race you can share the celebrations together.

If you go to the line knowing you have given it absolutely 100% in every training session you have done, you know that there's nothing else you could have done and that helps you to deal with the pressure.

The crowd was unbelievable. We're in Athens and yet half the stadium seemed crammed with British,