We didn't want it to end like this.

Not now. It should have come next summer, in the East End of Glasgow, with the Saltire being hoisted and Flower of Scotland ringing in our ears. But all hope of Sir Chris Hoy signing off with victory for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the velodrome named in his honour was extinguished on Thursday, when his glittering cycling career came to a close inside Murrayfield Stadium after he confirmed his retirement from the sport.

While Hoy's decision to retire is not wholly unexpected, it is a landmark for sport in this country. Never again will we witness Scotland's finest-ever sportsperson compete. His palmares is so lengthy it could have been penned by Tolstoy. Six Olympic golds, 25 World Championship medals, 11 of them gold, two Commonwealth Games golds: his achievements are extraordinary.

But perhaps Hoy's greatest achievement has been the dignity and graciousness he has shown throughout his rise from obscurity to superstardom. Despite the pressures that come with being Britain's most decorated Olympian, Hoy has displayed a genuine humility, boosting his status as a true sporting legend. Any young, aspiring athlete should study Hoy meticulously, for he is the perfect example of an elite sportsperson.

Hoy's decision to retire now, passing up on the chance to compete at Glasgow 2014, is understandable. Irrespective of the results inside the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome next year, his legend would not have been diminished, but there would have been the feeling that anything less than gold would have been a failure. Unfortunately that is the by product after procuring six Olympic golds.

Had Hoy continued, the pressure he would have been under in the run-up to Glasgow 2014 would have been immense. He is more than capable of handling it – we all witnessed the extent of his mental strength during London 2012, but perhaps it was that Herculean task of delivering success in his home Olympics last summer that accelerated his retirement. On Thursday Hoy said he felt he had used "every last ounce of energy and effort" in London. Glasgow 2014 was "just a year too far".

Hoy's supremacy has made his success appear, at times, almost effortless. There is a tendency to assume that the sight of those enormous thighs in a lycra skinsuit in Glasgow next year would be enough to make his opponents capitulate. But the amount of work required to churn out medal-winning performances year after year, as Hoy has done, is incredible. At 37, his body must be wilting. The pain of the training he has subjected himself to daily for almost two decades had to eventually catch up on him, even if he appeared superhuman. Another 15 months of that must have seemed like torture.

There has been a palpable sense of loss within sport since Hoy's announcement. While the Scot will remain involved in sport, especially with Glasgow 2014, I feel sad Team Scotland have lost their brightest star. I was privileged to be a team-mate of Hoy at two Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Olympics. Even up close, his decency stood out. Inside the Olympic Village, you would assume Hoy would be able to seek relative sanctuary from the madness that often surrounds him. But he was constantly asked to pose for photos by his Team GB compatriots. He always obliged.

My abiding memory of Hoy will be of him powering past Max Levy in the keirin in London to win his sixth gold medal. It had seemed an impossible victory.

I will also remember sharing a physio room with him at the 2006 Commonwealth Games – seeing him lying in his pants on the physio bed (and yes, those thighs are just as enormous as they look on TV).

There is no greater inspiration than having Hoy spearheading your team. Which is why it is perhaps a wise decision for Hoy to retire now. To go out at the top is the hardest decision for any athlete to make. Hoy's records are cemented in the annals of British sporting history. They may never be surpassed.

Susan Egelstaff