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Gallery: Chris Hoy's career in pictures

published 19 April 2013

Britain's most successful Olympian retires

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hris Hoy celebrates on the podium at the end of the men's 1 km time trial final at the Athens velodrome (Image credit: AFP)

Gregory Bauge and Chris Hoy compete during their Men's Sprint quarterfinal as part of the Worlds in 2010(Image credit: AFP)

All white on the night: Hoy leads the GB team at London 2012(Image credit: AFP)

Shane Sutton and Hoy after his final gold medal ride(Image credit: AFP)

Ahead of his final race at the London Olympic Games(Image credit: AFP)

On the podium one last time in London 2012(Image credit: AFP)

La Paz, Bolivia, on May 12th, 2007, after failing in his attempt to break the world record for the kilometer time trial(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy meets Gordon Brown after the 2008 Olympic Games(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy celebrates after winning the men's 1 km time trial final at the Athens velodrome(Image credit: AFP)

Chinese team member Saifei Bao, British rider Chris Hoy and Dutch team member Roy van den Berg take the start of the Men's Keirin first round of the worlds in 2004(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy poses for pictures on August 19, 2008 with the gold medals won during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy, Craig Mc Lean and Jason Queally at the track Worlds in 1999(Image credit: AFP)

The British team, composed by Jason Queally, Craig Mac Lean and Chris Hoy (From L to R), celebrates on the podium 17 September 2000 after winning the silver medal in the men's olympic sprint competition of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy of Scotland hugs a member of the audience after winning the Men 1000m time trial Final 28 July 2002, at the 17th Commonwealth Games in Manchester (Image credit: AFP)

Great Britains Chris Hoy rides during the 1km time trial event during the 2002 world track cycling Championships in Copenhagen, 26 September 2002. Hoy took the gold medal and France's Arnaud Tournant the silve(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy wearing a kilt poses during the team sprint first round during the 2002 world track cycling Championships in Copenhagen(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy is congratulated by Australia's Shane Perkins after winning the bronze medal in the men's sprint at the 2012 (Image credit: AFP)

Great Britain's Jamie Staff, Jason Kenny and Chris Hoy compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's track cycling team sprint qualifying(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy of Great Britain celebrates after winning the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's Keirin final(Image credit: AFP)

Chris Hoy and Malaysia's Mohd Azizulhasni Awang compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games(Image credit: AFP)

Sir Chris Hoy - on canvas and in the flesh(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Able to instill fear into his competitiors Chris Hoy awaits the Keirin final at the World Championships in Melbourne.(Image credit: Mark Gunter - markgunter.com.au)

Chris Hoy (Great Britain) celebrates keirin victory(Image credit: Daniel Simms)

Chris Hoy (Great Britain) on the podium(Image credit: Daniel Simms)

Chris Hoy (Great Britain) with the British flag(Image credit: Daniel Simms)

Sprint legend Sir Chris Hoy at the Six-Days of Rotterdam(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.(Image credit: Gerry McManus)

Sir Chris Hoy warms up for the keirin(Image credit: British Cycling)

The men's keirin podium (l-r): Teun Mulder (2nd,NED), Sir Chris Hoy (1st,GBR) and Mickael Bourgain (3rd,FRA).(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)

Chris Hoy confirmed his retirement from cycling in Edinburgh on Thursday, calling time on a lengthy career that yielded six Olympic gold medals and eleven world titles.

The Scot competed in four Olympic Games – Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London – and in that time, cycling in Britain went from niche to mainstream as national lottery funding placed solid foundations beneath lofty dreams. Big names came and went (and even came back) in that period, but Hoy was the most consistent figure, producing a string of impressive displays at the biggest events.

Hoy’s run of success began in Athens in 2000, when he took silver in the team sprint alongside Craig MacLean and Jason Queally. Over the four years that followed, he took over from Arnaud Tournant as the top kilometre rider in the world, culminating in gold at the Athens Olympics of 2004.

By Beijing, however, the kilo had been removed from the programme and Hoy was forced to focus his energies elsewhere. In a remarkable run, he came up with gold medals in the team sprint, keirin and individual sprint.

Hoy left for Beijing as a cyclist and returned a household name. Later that year, he was named as BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year (the first cyclist since Tommy Simpson to be so honoured) and he was knighted for his achievements in the velodrome.

At 32 years of age, it would have been easy for Hoy to call time on his career at that point, and certainly the next Olympic cycle did not go as smoothly as his build-up to Beijing. But London 2012 was the always the aim, and Hoy delighted the home crowds by taking two gold medals in his final two events on the track – the team sprint and the keirin.

Hoy closes his career as Britain’s most successful Olympian and as one of the symbols of Britain’s remarkable transformation as a cycling power over the past 15 years. In this gallery, Cyclingnews takes a look back at Hoy’s career.