Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling 11 years ago, admitting: “I know it is the right decision.”

The 37-year-old Scot had been contemplating continuing until the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but revealed he was quitting the sport at a press conference in Edinburgh on April 18, 2013.

Hoy was Britain’s most decorated Olympian after his haul of two gold medals at London 2012 saw him surpass rower Sir Steve Redgrave’s record of five, although he was overtaken by former team-mate Sir Jason Kenny in 2021.

In explaining his decision, Hoy said: “I think in sport at the highest level you’re dealing in such small margins and you can tell when you’re good but not good enough.

“It was very emotional coming in there (to the press conference) and I was trying not to watch the video montage with the sad music.

“I don’t want it to be a sad moment.

“I want to celebrate it and be happy because I know it is the right decision.

“It’s a decision that I didn’t take lightly and I thought about it very hard.”

As well as six Olympic titles, Hoy’s 13-year career featured 11 world titles and two Commonwealth crowns.

Hoy’s final race was the Olympic Keirin final on August 7, 2012 – on the final day of the London 2012 track programme.

Following retirement, Hoy pursued his passion for motorsport, including competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while he has also written children’s books.

In February 2024, the 48-year-old announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

Sir Chris Hoy was crowned world champion for a 10th time on this day in 2010 as he triumphed in the Keirin at the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen.

A crash in the first heat threatened to wreck Hoy’s plans, but he managed to regroup to qualify for the final.

Azizulhasni Awang pushed Olympic champion Hoy all the way before the British rider edged home to claim his second medal of the Championships.

Hoy had already clinched bronze in the team sprint at the Ballerup Super Arena, but crashed out in qualifying for the Keirin.

Josiah Ng Onn Lam had blocked Hoy, who went on to fall and take out another rider, which caused the race to stop.

Ng was later disqualified and after Hoy progressed through to the final, the Scot had to bide his time before he gained the lead during the final lap-and-a-half to taste success in his first major global event since his triple Olympic success in 2008.

“I certainly didn’t enjoy being bumped on my backside at the start of my first race – that was a bit out of order,” Hoy said.

“It made me angry but I had to keep my emotions in check because I didn’t want the red mist to descend.

“It’s even more special to be back here again where I won my first world title in 2002.

“I would never have predicted then that I would be coming back here in eight years time, let alone to win a 10th title. I’m delighted.”

Sir Chris Hoy believes Katie Archibald is on track for next summer’s Paris Olympics after seeing her storm to overall victory in the UCI Track Champions League.

Two-time Olympic champion Archibald admitted she was far from her best at the World Championships in Glasgow in August, when the intense spotlight of a home worlds came as she was still coming to terms with the tragic loss of her partner Rab Wardell 12 months earlier.

But just a few months later, the 29-year-old Scot showed her class to win the Champions League crown for a second time, wrapping up her victory during the final two rounds in London at the weekend.

“It’s incredibly impressive,” Hoy told the PA news agency. “We’re starting to see that spark coming back, the smile, the enjoyment of the racing. Just life coming back into her after what was an incredibly difficult year.

“She wasn’t at her best at the world championships and I think this is a significant step forward from the worlds and it really does bode well for what is a massively important year for her and for the team.

“And they need her. The team really does rely on a few big-name individuals, not to carry the team but to inspire the team.

“When the big names are firing and on form it lifts everyone else, so she’s absolutely central to the British Cycling campaign and it’s looking good.

“I think she’s definitely getting better and getting to where she needs to be.”

The made-for-TV Champions League, which has just completed its third season, sees endurance riders like Archibald compete in two races per round, the scratch race and the elimination.

It is a long way from the team pursuit and the Madison that Archibald will aim for in Paris, and comprises only two of the four elements of the omnium, but it will be a significant confidence booster all the same.

“This is not a direct comparison to those events but it almost doesn’t matter,” added Hoy, who is an ambassador for the Champions League.

“It’s about how she’s responding to the competition and getting inspired by the crowd and just starting to bring back that spark and getting her life back on track after what she’s been through.

“As a rider you want to use the event in the right way. I would want to come in and see it as an opportunity to learn about my rivals, see them in some different situations and try different tactics.

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“If it doesn’t work out it’s not the end of the world, you’ve not missed out on a world title or an Olympic medal, but having said that the overall Champions League jersey and trophy is a massive thing now, it’s being recognised.”

Although star names like Archibald and Dutch sprinter Harrie Lavreysen drew the crowds, this season saw arguably the weakest field yet contest the Champions League with several riders preferring to focus their training elsewhere as the clock ticks down to Paris.

However, Hoy said he believed the still young series – which aims to elevate the profile of track cycling beyond the Olympics and annual world championships – is developing well.

“I think it’s pretty close to what I hoped it would be,” he said. “I think they’ve delivered exactly what they promised and probably more.

“This year it’s been a challenge with it being an Olympic year but the organisers aren’t trying to hide that, and I think next year there will be a rebound when, post-Olympics, riders are freed of the pressure and stress of an Olympic year and they want to go out and ride their bikes and have fun.”

Sir Chris Hoy won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain’s men’s team sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London Velodrome on this day in 2012.

After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the team sprint for a takeover infringement and Britain’s men’s team pursuit quartet set a world record, Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-man, three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.747 seconds.

The British trio clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600secs.

In a repeat of the final four years previously in Beijing, France’s Gregory Bauge, Michael D’Almeida and Kevin Sireau had to settle for silver, finishing in 43.013.

Hoy, 36, told BBC One: “It is quite overwhelming. We knew it was possible, this hasn’t come out of the blue. We knew that if we put together our best possible race on the day that it was possible but it’s easier said than done.

“We had the full support of the team behind us and we nailed it.

“That last ride I dug deeper than I have ever dug before. I didn’t want to let the boys down, they have been riding so well today.

“You can’t overstate what it means to us in front of our home crowd.”

Hindes said: “It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe I am an Olympic champion, it’s a dream come true.”

Kenny added: “I can’t believe how quick we went today.

“Phil went off so quick, we were just swinging over the back of him, trying to keep up.”

Five days later Hoy won gold in the Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave and become the most successful British Olympian.