CHRIS HOY WINS SPRINT GOLD
After Chris Hoy beat Kevin Sireau 2-0 in the sprint final, a banner in the crowd read 'Chris Hoy - The Real McHoy' - and you can't argue with that.
Scottish star Hoy, 32, won the world championship sprint title in his first crack at winning a medal.
It's Britain's first sprint world title since Reg Harris in 1954.
And for Hoy it puts him in the unique position of having won a world title in four different track disciplines - kilometre, team sprint, Keirin and now sprint.
At world championship level Hoy has won the four kilo titles, two team sprints, one Keirin and now one sprint title since breaking onto the scene in 1999. It's an awesome record.
Since the UCI decided to scrap the kilometre from the Olympic Games, Hoy has retrained his focus on the Keirin and sprint. In the past 18 months he strung together a 22-match unbeaten run in the Keirin. Now he's proved he can beat the very best at the sprint.
The turning point was surely yesterday's quarter-final clash with the reigning champion Theo Bos.
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When he beat the Dutchman in a very tight deciding race to make the last four. That gave him the belief that he could go all the way.
Tonight he was in brilliant form as well as tactically smart. It was a bit of a stroll past Italy's Roberto Chiappa in the semi-finals but the final against Sireau consisted of two very tight battles. Sireau's mistake in the second race was obvious. Going from a long way out was the wrong tactic against a kilo rider.
2008 TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAILY REPORTS
Sunday, day five>>
Saturday, day four>>
Friday, day three>>
Thursday, day two>>
Wednesday, day one>>
RELATED LINKS
Women's Keirin: Reed denies Pendleton the perfect finish
Who are Brit's golden nine?
Hoy wins the Keirin
Eighth gold for Britain in the Madison
Gold for Pendleton in the sprint
Chris Hoy wins sprint gold
Pursuit women take fifth British gold medal
Jo Rowsell's gold: the toast of Sutton Cycling Club
Belarussian wins men's points race
Britain going for more gold on Friday
Comment: How many more gold for GB?
Hat-trick of golds for Britain
Britain break team pursuit world record
GB into women's team pursuit final
Gold for Romero in individual pursuit
Reade and Pendleton cruise into team sprint final
Track World Champs: results
Romero breaks British pursuit record
It's Britain vs Denmark in team pursuit final
Britain aiming for team pursuit world record
Britain take silver in team sprint
Crowd step in as French anthem stalls
Hayles denies cheating after failing blood test
Wiggins: "I'm pleased I got the job done"
Wiggins wins pursuit gold
Brailsford defends Hayles after failed blood test
Hayles fails pre-race blood test at Track Worlds
Cycling Weekly's 2008 Track World Championships preview
PHOTO GALLERIES
CW's online gallery section>>
Day three in pictures
Day two in pictures
Day one in pictures
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Sports journalist Lionel Birnie has written professionally for Sunday Times, Procycling and of course Cycling Weekly. He is also an author, publisher, and co-founder of The Cycling Podcast. His first experience covering the Tour de France came in 1999, and he has presented The Cycling Podcast with Richard Moore and Daniel Friebe since 2013. He founded Peloton Publishing in 2010 and has ghostwritten and published the autobiography of Sean Kelly, as well as a number of other sports icons.