Hoy and Kenny ready to test their friendly rivalry at London World Cup

By Sportsbeat staff

SIR Chris Hoy believes he is hitting form at exactly the right time ahead of this week's UCI World Cup in London.

CONFIDENT: Chris Hoy reported a quick training session as he tried out the Olympic velodrome ahead of this week's UCI World Cup event in London (Getty Images)

The four-time Olympic champion will be hoping to stake his claim for London 2012 selection with a strong performance at the official test event for the Olympic velodrome, a venue he's even helped design.

But with British team-mate Jason Kenny one of his biggest rivals, and only one Olympic place available per nation for the sprint and keirin, titles he won in Beijing, Hoy knows that his reputation and impressive palmares will count for little.

"I've had really good training sessions and I went very quickly," he said. 

"You don't want to read too much in to it because there are others on the track at the same time and there is circulating air, so the times you get aren't always reflective of real time but it was pretty quick. 

"You can tell there is a special atmosphere. From the first training day you can tell that it is more that just a World Cup. This is proper marker for the Olympics."

Hoy's head-to-head with Kenny will be the most interesting sub-plot to the World Cup, especially since the young pretender - who won individual sprint silver in Beijing before joining Hoy to win team sprint gold - was crowned world champion following the disqualification of France's Grégory Baugé for drug infringements.

Kenny will receive his rainbow jersey on Thursday and wear it for the first time this weekend - and rival Hoy believes it could give him a timely morale boost.

"I hope it will because he deserves it," added Hoy, who is entered in the sprint, keirin and team sprint and is seeking a career 50th World Cup medal this week.

"He has not had the opportunity to enjoy it and relish it since he won it and enjoy the glory which you get with it. He didn't get that chance. It's not the way he wanted to get it but I'm sure he will be proud to wear the rainbow jersey.  

"However, there are so many riders out there that you cant afford to think about anyone but yourself, if you start worrying about other riders then it is detrimental. You just want to do the best you can and hope that it's good enough.

"I enjoy racing against him (Jason) as much as I do against anyone else. It's war on the track but as soon as it's finished you shake hands. We are friends off the track."

Kenny admitted his early season form was disappointing - even describing it as 'rubbish' - but beat Hoy at a recent Revolution meeting in Manchester and knows this week and next month's World Championship will be make-or-break for his hopes of individual Olympic selection.

"There are two major ones, there's this one and then the World Championships, so it's obviously very important," he said.

"It's not long to the Olympics and this is obviously a big one, being on the same track, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

"I'm pretty happy with where I am now and hopefully I'll be at the sharp end in the sprint."

© Sportsbeat 2012