Sir Chris Hoy has backed Jason Kenny to reclaim his top form ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics and put his poor performance at the UCI Track World Championships behind him.

Kenny, a double gold medallist in London, failed to gain a single podium place in Paris in February and was dumped out of the sprint competition in the first round having been beaten by unfancied Venezuelan Hersony Canelon.

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But Hoy, who won gold with Kenny in the team sprint event at London 2012, believes the Bolton man will up his game in the next 18 months and be back to his best before the Olympics.

“It was quite strange to see how Jason performed, from what I’ve seen and heard his preparations were going very well, he often doesn’t show his best form until the last minute,” said Hoy.

“The expectations were quite high, but it’s down to fractions and little decisions that go for and against you in a race, that can flip the whole thing on its head.

“If you look at Glasgow he didn’t qualify well, but he ended up winning the first and second round and all of a sudden he makes it to the final and wins a silver medal.

“Things can happen at any stage, I definitely wouldn’t discount Jason for an individual medal in Rio.

“He’s a champion, he likes to perform when it really counts and his rivals know he bring his A-game when it matters most.”

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Source: Bolton News