Hoy back to his best in Manchester

Sir Chris Hoy made a triumphant return to competitive cycling by winning his first British sprint title – and setting a new track record time of 9.99 seconds at the National Track Championships in Manchester.

The 33-year-old added the national honour to the Olympic gold he won in the event last August by beating defending champion Matt Crampton in the 200 meters final.

It was one of the most competitive sprint competition ever staged in the national championships. As well as Crampton, four-time Olympic champion Hoy was up against Jason Kenny, the man he beat in the Beijing final, and Ross Edgar, also an Olympic silver medallist.

And Hoy was delighted with his first sprint title and the time: “To do a 9.99 is great. I'm really pleased with that. We've had the world championships here three times and no-one's gone that fast.”

The win marks a return to form for the Scot after a serious hip injury cut last season short. He had a successful return from injury at a high-quality meeting in France two months ago.

Since then the triple Olympic gold medallist has focused on regaining full fitness and is looking forward to testing himself against domestic opposition before his first international outing of the new season.

The event is the first of three top cycling events in Manchester this autumn. It’s followed by the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics from Friday, October 30-Sunday, November 1 and the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships from Friday, November 6-Sunday, November 8.