HIS name may be above the door of the velodrome where the 2014 Commonwealth Games track cycling events will be contested, but Sir Chris Hoy will be firmly sitting this one out.
The retired six-time Olympic champion will be on the sidelines to lend his support as the 34-strong Team Scotland cycling squad compete on the track, road and mountain bike trails. The action gets under way at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Thursday and he believes the Scots are firmly in reach of medals.
"There is a mix of youth and experience in there," he said. "You have guys who have been to four Games - the likes of Craig MacLean and James McCallum - but also plenty of youth coming through which is great to see.
"There are some real medal chances. Katie Archibald has had a fantastic past 12 months and this will be a great opportunity for her to step out from the team role she has been playing with the GB squad and hopefully win a medal or two individually.
"I expect she will take it in her stride and perform, not just at the same level she has done, but improving all the time. Katie is so young and clearly on an upward trajectory. Who knows? You just don't know how far she can go.
"We've got the [para-cycling] tandems with Aileen McGlynn and Neil Fachie who have won Paralympic medals before and so it's a great chance for them too."
Hoy speaks highly of the 21-year-old track sprinter Callum Skinner, but is cautious about piling on too much pressure.
"What you have to remember is that men's track sprint cycling is one of the highest standard events you are going to see right through the whole Commonwealth Games," Hot said. "From the Olympic Games you have the Kiwis who were medallists in the keirin and who are current team sprint world champions.
"You have the Aussies, Shane Perkins and Matthew Glaetzer; the Trinidad rider [Njisane Phillip] who was fourth at the Olympics in the sprint, and Jason Kenny, the Olympic sprint champion.
"It's an absolutely stacked field and all it's really missing is the French and a couple of Germans and that would be your world championships or Olympic Games.
"It's not that Callum isn't capable of winning a medal, he absolutely is, but I wouldn't want to put that pressure on him. I think his best chance is in the keirin and if he can make the final - and that is going to be a tough challenge - without a doubt he has a chance of getting a medal and could really pull off a big surprise."
Susan Swarbrick
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