WHEN Duncan Scott was told it was time to start preparing for the next Olympic cycle this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. After a well-earned four-week break, the 19-year-old from Alloa, who returned from Rio with two silver medals, has swapped the pool for the peloton, as he and his fellow University of Stirling swimmers Ross Murdoch, Craig Benson and Dan Wallace get back on the bike ahead of the short course swimming season with a punishing series of cycling sessions.

"We've been doing this horrible cycling thing," says Scott. "It is like the Tour of Stirling. There has been a bike session the last couple of Fridays, which was good fun with the whole of the squad. There is myself, Ross and Craig Benson. Dan Wallace hasn't quite started it yet. We all get to decide a three-minute block and if one person makes it hard then the next person has to make it even harder. But it is good, another way of pushing ourselves, it helps us get a good team cohesion at the start of the season."

Scott enjoyed the kind of Olympics which makes the world sit up and take notice. He swam both the semi-finals and the heats as Britain took silver in the 4x200m freestyle relay, anchored Britain home to the same colour in the 4x100m medley relay, and set a British record of 48.01 as he came home a creditable fifth place in the 100m individual freestyle. You might have expected him to return home to Clackmannanshire to a hero's welcome, but thankfully it takes more than that to impress close friends and family.

"My dad, the first thing he said to me, was 'good job, but you need to work on your dive!'" said Scott, a fan of Alloa Athletic. "No, it has been great to see everyone, they have all been extremely supportive and it was great to see how happy everyone is.

"I had about four and a half weeks off," he added. "And for me that is a long time. My coach has told me that this is a massive break for you, mentally, physically. I don't really want you going near a pool. Because the next four year cycle is going to be massive.

"I have been able to meet up with friends who I saw at school and have been away from. Whether it is Edinburgh Uni or Heriott Watt. I don't get a hero's welcome. It is all 'why didn't you reply to my texts?' or 'why didn't you give me a shout out on TV?'. Nothing else."

Scott may have surprised the world with his Rio showing but he may not have surprised himself to the same degree. This is a young man who has been single-minded about his sport ever since joining Strathallan School on a sport scholarship at the beginning of his secondary school years. Swimmers often give up the sport at notoriously tender ages but the world is at this teenager's fingertips. His next goal is ensuring he qualifies to swim for Scotland at the Gold Coast in 2018.

"I did and I didn't [surprise myself]," said Scott. "I sat down with my coach [Steven Tigg] beforehand and we set a couple of targets. I didn't swim the best the year before, I didn't swim too well at the worlds. I felt like I didn't quite push my PBs on as well as I could have. But at Rio we went quicker than we thought, which was obviously nice. Qualify for the Commonwealth Games in April, that is the next goal. Other than that we have got the short course season up til December time. I will decide after the short course season what my goals are for next year's long course season."

That silver in the 4x200m was a veritable Scottish success story, with Stephen Milne and Dan Wallace joining Scott and England's James Guy in the final, and Robbie Renwick also earning a silver medal for his participation in the semi-final. It wasn't exactly how the 28-year-old Aberdonian would have planned it but Scott paid tribute to the 28-year-old, who was one of the biggest sources of inspiration of his career.

"It is obviously a sad way for him to kind of end his Olympic dreams," said Scott. "But sport is tough, it is like that. Robbie has been an absolute inspiration to train with and it was sad to watch him go out on that. But I think what he has done for Scottish and British sport has been massive - Commonwealth Games gold medal, World Championship gold medal, all the sacrifices he has made along the way. Just to be able to say that I have trained with him has been massive. He has made a huge contribution to my year."

Now it is Scott who is the role model, visiting schools and sports clubs across the land to inspire the next generation. "I think across the board swimming in Scotland is in good shape," said Scott. "At 16, 17, there are some swimmers in Scotland who are looking like they have great potential. It is up to them whether they carry it on."