Hoy homes in on Glasgow's World Cup bid and 2014 Games

A WEARY and jet-lagged Chris Hoy appeared at Gleneagles Hotel yesterday, having endured a long and complicated journey back to Scotland from Thailand, where he had been on holiday and found himself faced with the prospect of being stuck there indefinitely as protesters blocked Bangkok airport.

In the end, Hoy was 'rescued' by one of his sponsors, DHL, though he was keen yesterday to play down the drama and divert attention to the initiative he was at Gleneagles to announce: Glasgow's bid to bring a major event to the soon-to-be-built Chris Hoy Velodrome in four years' time. One of the challenges for the new facility, to open in the east end of Glasgow in 2011, will be to attract major events before and after the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

A round of the track cycling World Cup series certainly fits the bill, and Paul Bush, of EventScotland, confirmed that progress has been made, after talks with British Cycling and the International Cycling Union (UCI), to secure a World Cup for Glasgow in 2012/13.

Moreover, Hoy confirmed that he would like to take part. "If the bid for a World Cup is successful then it will be the first Commonwealth Games facility to host a major event ahead of the 2014 Games," said the quadruple Olympic gold medallist, who would be 36 by the time the World Cup comes to Glasgow. "I would certainly like to compete – I've never raced internationally in Scotland."

It is the first time Hoy has publicly stated his intention to continue to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

"I've always said I'll definitely keep going to London in 2012," he said, "but then it's only another two years to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and I hope I'll keep going for them."

Jonny Clay, British Cycling's sport and membership director, said that talks had been held with the UCI with a view to guaranteeing Britain a round of the World Cup on an annual basis.

Currently the five-race series rotates around different cities – this year's takes in Manchester, Melbourne, Cali, Beijing and Copenhagen – but Clay is confident that the UCI could make such a commitment to the world's pre-eminent track cycling nation, which will soon boast four high-quality indoor velodromes, in Manchester, Newport, London and of course Glasgow.

"We're trying to establish with the UCI that we get a round every year," said Clay.

"They wouldn't be so keen to have one in the same city every year, but they seem keen on the World Cup coming to the UK every year. We're very confident that the Glasgow event will happen."

As for Hoy, who later delivered a keynote speech to Scotland's National Events Conference, he said he is keen to resume training ahead of his competitive return to the track at the Revolution meeting in Manchester on Saturday.

"It wasn't exactly a rescue operation," he said of his return journey from Thailand, in the company of his girlfriend, Sarra Kemp.

"We'd been looking at getting a minibus or taxi – it was going to be a bit of a hassle. We were lucky to get flights, but in the end it meant another couple of days lying on the beach, so it wasn't all bad."

hoy fits bill for bbc award, pages 64-65