Hoy beats Olympic rivals in Germany

CAPITAL cycling star Chris Hoy has returned from his victorious trip to the Cottbus Grand Prix in Germany with a psychological edge over his rivals for gold at the Olympics in Beijing, writes COLIN RENTON.

After posting the third fastest time in qualifying, the 32-year-old was at his imperious best in the knockout stages and eased through to the final, where he saw off the challenge of the German rider Sebastian Doehrer, who had performed well to reach the decider.

Among Hoy's vanquished opponents were world record holder Theo Bos of the Netherlands and current Olympic champion Ryan Bayley from Australia.

Meanwhile, Evan Oliphant (Plowman Craven) finished ahead of defending champion David Millar (Slipstream) at the British Road Race Championships in Yorkshire to finish 15th behind former world track champion Rob Hayles.

In the women's race, former Edinburgh RC rider Pippa Handley made a bold attempt to challenge Welsh ace Nicole Cooke before paying the price in the latter stages. Handley's former team-mate Claire Thomas who was top Scot, crossing the line in 16th.