167. Sir Chris Hoy

This week James is joined Sir Chris Hoy, who if you haven’t heard of him was a pretty good cyclist in his day. Chris won six Olympic gold medals and one silver on the track, spanning four Olympic Games including that incredible week at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Chris won golds in the Team Sprint, Individual Sprint and Keirin as Team GB notched up a staggering 14 cycling medals, cementing Britain as a cycling powerhouse and putting cycling into the mainstream in the process.

In this episode, Chris discusses that day in Beijing as well as many other memorable moments, like sitting trackside in Athens watching world records get smashed over and over until it was his turn to compete; turning up in Japan to learn to race Keirin at Japanese Keirin school; a love of coffee that meant he never travelled anywhere without his espresso machine and grinder, and his even bigger love and respect for cycling compatriot and maverick record breaker, Graeme Obree; and which of his teammates rode with different length cranks without even noticing.

Chris also talks about his Stage 4 cancer diagnosis and how prostate cancer affects men and what men can do to catch it early. We also talk about how you can support Chris’s annual charity ride, Tour de 4, which raises money for cancer research and care, and which this year saw 191 riders with Stage 4 cancer join thousands more as they cycled and raised nearly £3 million for charity, taking Tour de 4’s total to a staggering £5.8 million in two years.

You can check your risk of prostate cancer in under 30 seconds at prostatecancer.org/risk-checker and you can donate to Tour de 4, or sign up for next year's event at tourde4.com

Chat begins at 11:10.

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This episode is brought to you by Rouvy, the indoor riding platform that makes indoor rides look and feel real, from smashing up the Sa Calobra to group rides around Vietnam to Rouvy Fest, which this year takes place between 12th and 25th October and will include a host of special group rides including tackling Mount Teide in Tenerife, riding the shores and hill of Lake Garda in Italy and puffing up dust on the Strade Bianche chalky road of Tuscany. All this plus special ride guests telling stories and answering questions as they pedal, challenges, rewards and giveaways, and the Rouvy Fest Race, a huge single race where the competitive spirit meets fun and inclusive vibes. See Rouvy.com for more details, including how to sign up for a free month using the code KEEPITREALCYCLIST

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