Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny all set for the London Velodrome on Sunday
Jason Kenny and Sir Chris Hoy are the two main contenders for the English team at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup, scheduled in London.
The event will also serve as a warm-up for the Olympics and will be a dress rehearsal for the mega event.
Selectors will have to pick one from the two mentioned cyclists to represent the United Kingdom at the London’s event.
Shane Sutton, the Performance Manager, briefed that it is indeed a tough condition to be in but also suggests that it is “a beautiful situation to be in”.
A difficult decision in deed for the selectors as Jason Kenny is undoubtedly one of the fastest cyclists in the British camp.
He won the fifth and the sixth sprint during the UCI Track World Championships and also claimed the overall victory at the race. It is definitely not easy for any cyclist to replace a World Champion.
However, what makes it really difficult for the selectors is the fact that their second option is the man who secured three gold medals in the previous edition of Olympics.
Hoy won a silver medal in Sydney Olympics 2000, gold at the Athens Olympics 2004 and as many as three gold medals, at the most recent edition of the mega event.
Sutton explained, “How do you pick? Do you race them off? This World Cup and the world championships are both important”.
“There is a discretionary line in there, but whoever performs best in the world championships probably has one foot in the door”, he concluded.
It appears as if the Sunday’s sprint will serve as a tie breaker amongst the two sprinters.
However, Hoy and Kenny are not the only two cyclists in the pipeline. Ross Edgar is another star rider who will join the duo at the Olympic velodrome.
Hoy commented on his selection for the previous versions of the Olympics, “There was no favouritism or tactical advice, they shook our hands and said, ‘Well done, you’re in the final, you’re guaranteed gold or silver; it’s up to you now”.
It will be interesting to see if Great Britain’s team decides to continue its Olympics pursuit with Hoy or if it will opt for the current World Champion Jason Kenny.
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