A-Hoy! Sir Chris wins tenth world title

Sir Chris Hoy cycled to victory at the keirin event to secure his tenth world title and Great Britain's first gold medal at the Track Cycling World Championships in Denmark. Hoy held off the challenge from Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang to pick up his second medal of the tournament, an impressive feat given that the Scot had just suffered a crash in the first heat. Hoy's success was a welcome boost for British fans at the Ballerup Super Arena following the the failure of the Women's team, made up of Lizzie Armitstead, Wendy Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell to surpass their Australian adversaries, finishing runners-up in the race for the pursuit title. There was also disappointment for Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish, who finished fourth in the Women's team sprint. On the victory Sir Chris commented "I was aware of the magnitude of a 10th world title in the week building up to the championships because it's been in the press and people have been asking me about it", adding "I would never have predicted then that I would be coming back here in eight years time, let alone to win a 10th title. Hoy's personal triumph will likely help take his attention away from the problems suffered by the Men's team sprint on Wednesday, where broken pedal prior to qualifying resulted in a third place finish, dashing British hopes for Gold. Unlike many of Hoy's previous triumphs, this one was different as the ten-time world champion faced rough treatment from his opponents. Instead of allowing Hoy to claim an early advantage and dictate the pace, the rest of the field attempted to shut him out, a tactic that caused the initial crash. Hoy was blocked by Malaysia's Josiah Ng Onn Lam before falling and colliding with another rider, Holland's Roy van den Berg. This resulted in Ng being disqualified, after it was deemed that he had taken too direct a line off the track banking, causing the collision. On the incident Hoy remarked "The keirin is a physical race so you expect a few elbows", however "I certainly didn't enjoy being bumped on my backside at the start of my first race - that was a bit out of order!" Although many have come to expect such brilliance from Hoy, it is worth noting that only British cyclist with anywhere near as impressive a tally is the late Beryl Burton, who managed seven gold medals on road and track, making the former's achievements all the more remarkable and laudable.