Team GB legend Sir Chris Hoy has been speaking about his ongoing battle with terminal prostate cancer as he prepares to participate in the Tour de 4 to raise awareness
Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy has opened up on his ongoing battle with terminal cancer, revealing that a bike ride in Greece last year made him realise that his body can no longer do what it used to.
Hoy, 49, bravely revealed back in October that his prostate cancer was terminal. The six-time Olympic champion was given a timeframe of “two to four years” to live by doctors and has since undergone chemotherapy.
In a new interview with The Times, Hoy has gone into detail about how things have changed since his diagnosis, such as how much he can squat and his numbers on a bike.
It was during a ride overseas last May, though, where Hoy realised that he needed to ‘reset’ during a difficult moment with people who had paid to cycle alongside him.
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He said: “You want to be able to enjoy it, and not just suffer and struggle. But it’s very hilly there and we rode for half an hour uphill from the start and it was obvious to myself that my physical level wasn’t where it was before.
“I wasn’t able to ride and talk going up the hill, and I found it difficult. That was the point where I really understood: I’ve got to reset here and not compare myself to where I used to be.”
Hoy went on to say that he fared “way better” on those same Greek hills when he returned back in October, an indicator that he was ‘making progress’. He added: “It’s nice that you can see progress. You assume that everything is heading one way, everything is getting worse, everything is going downhill, and it’s not. I’ve been able to get fitter in the last 18 months; post-chemo I’ve been able to improve.”
The Team GB icon is gearing up for his own event later this year, The Tour de 4: something Hoy hopes will help raise awareness for what a stage four cancer diagnosis can look like.
The event will start and finish at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow with three different distances for participants, as well as static bikes inside the arena for others who are keen to get involved in another way.
Speaking of the event – which is set to be graced by a number of familiar faces including Andy Murray, Jason Kenny and Mark Cavendish among others – Hoy says: “The Tour de 4 is a big goal for me because I want to turn up looking and feeling as fit and healthy as I possibly can, I want to be an example.”
He adds: “The aim is to bring that community together and to change the perceptions of what a stage four diagnosis can look like.
“I hope it’s going to be a really positive, uplifting day that while I never imagined would need to exist, off the back of the diagnosis I’ve had, it’s something to really look forward to.”
