Hoy to start off Olympic year at Revolution in Manchester later this month

Sir Chris Hoy, who is aiming to defend his three Olympic titles in London this August, will be looking to get the year off to a flying start in Manchester later this month in the Revolution finale on 28 January.

Other top British stars who will be using the event to fine-tune their form ahead of the London World Cup, the World Championships in Melbourne and of course London 2012 include Matt Crampton and Ross Edgar.

Also riding will be Jason Kenny, guaranteed a warm reception from the crowd after he was last week confirmed as world champion in the individual sprint following the disqualification of Grégory Baugé for infringement of rules regarding out-of-competition drugs testing.

The latter, perhaps unsurprisingly, is missing from what is a strong French guest presence at the event, comprising Mickael Bourgain, Michael D’Almeida and Quentin Lafargue.

“The Revolution will be a good opportunity to race and test our form a few weeks ahead of the London World Cup” said Hoy, who is keen to return to competition as he continues his Olympic preparations.

“We’ve been out in Perth in Australia on a long training camp and it is always good to get back to racing and see how the hard work has paid off,” explained the Scot.

“Revolution is a special event with a fantastic home crowd so we always want to perform at our best. There’s a strong sprint line up and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he added.

Tickets for the evening programme are sold out, but there is still a chance to see Hoy and co in action, since sprint heats are held in the afternoon alongside the National Madison Championships, for which tickets are still on sale, with availability said to be ‘good.’

Details of tickets plus the full programme can be found on the Revolution website.

As has happened throughout this season, highlights will be screened on ITV4 at 7pm on the Monday following the event.