Six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy announces retirement

One of Britain's greatest ever sportsmen, the six time Olympic champion cyclist Sir Chris Hoy has announced his immediate retirement from the sport.

The news had been expected and was announced by Hoy at a press conference at Murrayfield in his home city of Edinburgh today (Thursday 18 April).

Hoy told journalists: "I'm announcing my retirement from international cycling - I've got every last ounce of energy and effort out of my body."

The 37-year-old track cyclist became Britain's most successful Olympian when he added two gold medals in the keirin and team sprint to his previous four - including three won in Beijing in 2008 - at the London Olympics last year. He is also an eleven time world champion.

He said: "Who knows what I'm going to do in the future...the first thing is to step back and let it all sink in. I'm an ambassador for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, working with Unicef and various other charities.

"It's tough to pick one special moment of my career - so I'm going to pick two. Athens - stepping onto the podium, hearing my name read out and then hearing 'Olympic champion' after it.

"To me that was what my career was all about. I thought nothing could compare to that but in London, to end my career with my sixth gold medal in the nature of the keirin, was a really special moment."

Hoy has been a great ambassador for the sport helping to raise awareness and interest in both competitive and leisure cycling which has now become one of the nation's favourite activities. Britain's remarkable international success in the sport has bred a new young breed of world class athletes emerging in the wake of established stars like Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and Victoria Pendleton.