By Mark Mackay

THE FUTURE of Scottish cycling is in safe hands as Scots Olympic gold medalist Chris Hoy said he will take a role in its development.

Hoy (32), (pictured), who became the first Briton for a century to win three Olympic golds in Beijing, visited Perthshire yesterday to launch his own scholarship fund.

Designed to seek out and develop his successors, The Chris Hoy Scholarship will work with Scotland’s top young cycling talents.

The nation won six cycling medals at the 2006 Games in Melbourne including the team sprint title courtesy of Hoy, Ross Edgar and Craig MacLean.

Hoy is desperate to see that success replicated at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010, the London Olympics 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

Hoy’s success has shone the spotlight on the sport like never before, but while he is hopeful of a national commitment to the sport he loves, the Scot is keenly aware that the country currently lacks top level training facilities.

To that end his scholarship will enable two talented young riders to attend UCI Sprint School in Aigle, Switzerland, the site of the world cycling centre.

The d4000 per term purpose-built facility has been in existence for almost six years and has played a major role in the development of current stars including Beijing gold medalists Vicky Pendleton and Ross Edgar.

Hoy believes its facilities will prove a great asset, offering fantastic tuition, coaching and competition for developing riders.

On its indoor velodrome Scots cyclists will be able to test themselves against some of the finest young riders from all corners of the world, exposing them to a higher standard and giving them “a carrot to chase.”

The cyclists picked for the scholarship will also be offered a background in everything it takes to succeed as a top professional cyclist, including French lessons and how to cook and care for themselves as athletes.

While such training should offer a major boost to fledgling careers, Hoy stressed that the scholarship is not intended to be an alternative to the coaching already offered.

That training is set to improve, with the Scottish Government hopeful that the national velodrome in Glasgow will have the same positive impact as facilities in Manchester have had upon the Team GB cyclists.

Hoy held a press conference at the Murrayshall House Hotel yesterday to outline the ambitious project.

He said that the development of his career had been held back by the difficulties he had in finding backing and suitable training.

“There is a difficulty with exposure to the right level of coaching and of finding competition with top training partners,” he added.

“I have always felt that there is no clear pathway for young sportsmen and women in this country to make it to the very top level.

“Victoria Pendleton and Ross Edgar were at the school in Switzerland for two years and it helped them to develop into solid professional riders and from there to champions.

“We have plenty of talent in this country—that is not the problem as there are fantastic athletes out there and records are being broken at youth and junior level—but we need to properly nurture that talent.

Hoy added, “We are not looking to replace a national coach. We are simply looking to enhance the whole set-up.”

He revealed that the scholarship will offer access to training and opportunities that he could only dream about when he was developing in the sport.

“My training partner Craig Mclean and I really had to do it all ourselves,” he said.

“We had no real backing and it took us a long time to get up to the professional level.

“We were scrabbling about looking for information on training methods and how to build for life at the higher levels of the sport.”

Hoy was also delighted to announce that his sporting hero, former Scotland rugby captain Gavin Hastings, has agreed to support the project.

He will take on the role of patron of the scholarship fund.

Hastings was unable to attend yesterday’s launch but said, “As an Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion, Chris Hoy is one of the all time greats of cycling.

“As a fellow Scot I am honoured to be involved in The Chris Hoy Scholarship.

“In time we will find a successor to this great athlete.”

Further details of the fund can be found on Chris’ new website at www.chrishoy scholarship.com