• London Olympics 2012

Hoy backs Hindes to thrive

Hindes, left, will lead off ahead of Hoy, right, and Jason Kenny in Melbourne © Getty Images

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Philip Hindes' arrival gives Great Britain a huge boost in their bid to retain their Olympic team sprint gold medal this summer, according to Sir Chris Hoy.

Hindes raced for Germany as a junior, but the 19-year-old has a British father and is set to make his GB debut at the World Track Cycling Championships in Melbourne this week.

Without the balance of a strong lead-off rider, Great Britain have lost out to France and, ironically, Germany in recent years, but Hoy believes Hindes offers the acceleration in the early stages of the race to leave himself and Jason Kenny primed to seal victory.

"He's improving at a rapid rate and if he performs well he could be in the running for the Olympics," said Hoy.

"If [Philip can give us] a good start then with Jason being one of the fastest guys in the world over the second lap, and myself for the third lap, there's a good chance we could challenge for the gold medal."

"Philip's strength is his acceleration - his start is really fast," added Hoy. "He's still off the pace of the best guys in the world, say the times of Jamie Staff at the last Olympics or Germany's Rene Enders at the moment, but not by much.

"The crucial thing is he's improving all the time. The other guys have been around for years and make very small improvements, if at all, whereas he's taking two-tenths off his time every month or so."

Hindes' arrival in an Olympic year is bound to reignite the 'plastic Brits' debate that came to prominence during the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul last month.

"You've got to remember his dad's British, it's not as if it's somebody who's visited the country a couple of times or has it on residency," Hoy said. "The regulations are there and if you're eligible, you're eligible. We're of the opinion it's fine and he's going to help the team. He feels British to us now."

Hindes' arrival is likely to end the hopes of Matt Crampton and Ross Edgar in their bid for the 'man-one' spot in the Olympic team. Both men have been trialled since Jamie Staff retired after the Beijing Olympics, but neither has made the role his own.

"We've still got them waiting in the wings," Hoy said. "I know Ross is working hard at home, doing his best to get back into the team. I feel sorry for Matt, he's improved a lot in the last few weeks and his times are pretty exceptional - it's not like he's lost his position, it's more like Phil's won it.

With that, Hoy is glad to see Hindes settling into life both at senior level and within a new national set-up so quickly.

"He reminds me of when I was younger in the team and everything was new and exciting. It's great fun having him in the team."

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