Sir Chris Hoy is back in the saddle – and despite his all-conquering performance at last year’s Olympics in Beijing insists there is still more to come.

The 33-year-old swept the board in China winning three gold medals in the team and individual sprints and the keirin.

Hoy will return to action at the World Cup meeting in Manchester that starts on October 30 in what will be his first race since a crash in February left him with a hip injury and ended his season.

But despite his spell on the sidelines and a hectic media schedule the 33-year-old insists the fire is still burning and the desire for gold in London remains as strong as ever.

“I don’t feel I have peaked,” said Hoy. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t keep going. Technically, tactically, there is no question I have room for improvement and we’re always looking for ways to tweak the training programmes.

“It’s frustrating when you’re not able to go out and train and you can see your rivals doing that.

"They are away training, not making adverts or cutting ribbons at supermarkets. They are away training 100 per cent to try to beat you.

“But you have to remind yourself this is a long-term plan and this is the first step on the road to London.

"I enjoy being back on a bike and I appreciate what I’ve got. As things start to cut back in terms of media requests, charity requests, sponsorship requests, I can start to focus more on cycling."