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Last Updated: Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 08:42 GMT
Chris Hoy column
Chris Hoy
By Chris Hoy
Scottish cyclist and Olympic champion

The countdown to the Commonwealth Games (15-26 March) is hotting up and I'm getting my kilt ready for when the Scottish team march out at the opening ceremony.

I've already got pretty used to the Australian lifestyle having been at a training camp in Perth since the turn of the year.

Chris Hoy in action for Great Britain
Your legs turn to jelly as they are basically being poisoned by the lactic acid
Hoy on the pain of the 'kilo'
Perth's in Western Australia and, as you might imagine, the weather's considerably better than the minus temperatures and rain I'm used to in Manchester and Scotland at this time of year.

I've even got a bit of a tan, although that doesn't mean I've been slacking off.

We've been able to spend a little time on the beach - in brief breaks from training - although such breathers are getting less and less as we get set for Melbourne.

At the moment, all the British teams are in a training camp together and the atmosphere's fantastic.

We're pushing each other all the time and regularly smashing personal bests but, before too long, we'll go from best mates to rivals... and that can be a bit odd.

As for training, we've been working hard on the specific components of fitness which are required for the events we race in.

That could be working at the velodrome on our starts, speed, lactic tolerance or in the gym trying to develop our explosive strength.

As we get nearer to competition time, the volume of training is gradually reduced to help minimise fatigue and the intensity is increased, to simulate the race effort. This period is known as a 'taper'.

Chris Hoy celebrates winning Commonwealth gold four years ago
You see everyone from massive basketballers to elderly bowlers
Hoy on the individuality of the Commonwealth Games
In Melbourne I will be riding the team sprint and the 1,000-metre time trial or 'kilo' as defending champion.

The kilo will see the five best riders in the world competing, bar Holland's Theo Bos, and it's an absolute killer.

The pain kicks in after just 20 seconds - pretty much at the end of lap one - and from then on the feeling gets worse and worse.

It starts with a stinging sensation in your legs - that's the lactic acid building up. Your body then begins to shut down as the build-up of lactic acid is so great the muscles aren't able to function properly.

They almost turn to jelly and, by the final half-lap, it can feel like your legs are just following the pedals and nothing more as the body is effectively 'poisoned' by the lactic acid. If you cross the line with a winning time, the pain is bearable, but if you lose it hurts 10 times more!

That said, it's all worth it to come away with the gold, which is obviously the aim.

It's not long until we head to the athletes' village in Melbourne where the pressure will get even greater.

You get an amazing array of athletes - massive basketballers, pocket-rocket gymnasts and even elderly bowlers.

It can sometimes get pretty intense in the village and it's important to keep calm amid that all.

The pre-competition pressure can occasionally get to athletes before they compete, but hopefully I'll be fine and draw from my previous experiences to stay focused on the job at hand.





Links to more Commonwealth Games stories


 

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Road to Melbourne: Chris Hoy & Jason Queally




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