Have you heard the one about the German comedian, the Scottish sporting legend and synchronised bike dancing? Sir Chris Hoy is the best man to tell it.
The inaugural combined UCI cycling world championships are underway, with events taking place in Glasgow and the rest of Scotland for the next week or so. And while the more traditional disciplines of track and road will garner most of the attention, being part of something bigger for the first time has allowed other less familiar pursuits to share some of the spotlight.
Nobody needs to tell Hoy – a six-time Olympic champion turned TV commentator and a cycling obsessive – about who and what to look out for in the velodrome that bears his name or on the road events that will traverse Scotland, both this Sunday and next.
When it came to some of the other disciplines hosting their world championships in Glasgow this year, however, Hoy needed to turn somewhere else for information. And the best person just so happened to be a German funnyman.
“I’ve got a podcast I do called Sporting Misadventures where we get comedians on to talk about their experiences with sport,” said Hoy, speaking to promote the impact of funding from The National Lottery in increasing access to and participation in sports such as cycling.
“We had Henning Wehn on – the German comedian, absolutely brilliant – and I mentioned artistic cycling to him. And he was very familiar with it. It’s a very niche sport in certain nations like ours but it’s apparently massive in places like Germany and Switzerland.
“It’s basically like synchronised swimming on two wheels, a rehearsed routine where they’re not holding the handlebars a lot of the time or they’re balancing on one wheel. It’s remarkable how they do it – it’s formation riding, like the Red Arrows on wheels.
“And there’s also cycle ball which is like football while on a bike. Both are taking place at the velodrome and the Emirates Arena I believe and I would love to see that live.
“And there’s BMX as well. It’s an Olympic sport but maybe there’s a percentage of the population who maybe still don’t appreciate how impressive a sport it is.”
There will be tears and cheers in abundance over the rest of these championships, in particular when Katie Archibald enters the velodrome to race in her own events.
The two-time Olympic champion laid bare her heartache in an emotional interview with The Herald recently following a traumatic 18-month period that saw her hit by a car while out on a cycle and then lose her partner, Rab Wardell, after the Scottish mountain bike cross-country champion suffered a cardiac arrest in his sleep.
It has taken a tremendous amount of courage for Archibald to continue racing after enduring such a loss but Hoy – who also spoke to her for a BBC documentary – hopes that becoming a world champion again in her home velodrome might help with the healing process.
“That would be amazing and a fitting tribute to Rab as well if she could do it,” he adds. “He would have been competing at these championships too. Any one of the things that happened to Katie would have been enough to mark it out as a horrendous year so for it all to happen at the same time…I don’t know how she’s coped.
“I guess cycling has been part of her therapy and she’s been able to immerse herself in her training and racing. The grief isn’t just something that disappears almost a year on but I was blown away by her strength and character. She was determined to let the world know about Rab.
“It’s going to be a special moment when she walks out onto the track and the reception she will receive will be incredible.”
Every major event hopes to leave a legacy and the hope this time is that the increased visibility of cycling will encourage others to take up the bike, whether recreationally or competitively. The importance of lottery funding in helping smaller clubs provide access and facilities to those keen to get involved has never been more important.
“It’s vital and it’s wonderful to see,” adds Hoy as he took time out of his schedule to visit the Cumbernauld Centurions BMX Club. “This is right in the heart of a community and kids and adults can come down and have a shot.
“Without these facilities there wouldn’t be the Olympic, Commonwealth or world champions. This place has benefited from £30,000 of National Lottery funding and it looks absolutely fantastic. If there weren't so many people around I would have had a wee shot around the track myself..."
National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #ThanksToYou #MakeAmazingHappen
