Sir Chris Hoy is terminally ill

Sir Chris Hoy - whose cycling career saw him become Team GB’s most decorated Olympian, before he successfully took up motorsport in retirement - has announced that he is terminally ill.

The six-time Olympic gold medalist, 48, revealed in February that he was being treated for cancer. However, in an interview with the Sunday Times this weekend he confirmed that his illness is incurable, with doctors giving him between two and four years to live.

He was given the prognosis just weeks before his wife Sarra was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Posting on Instagram on Sunday, Sir Chris said: “You may see in the news this weekend some articles about my health, so I just wanted to reassure you all that I’m feeling fit, strong and positive, and overwhelmed by all the love and support shown to my family and me. Onwards!”

Sir Chris became a household name for his exploits in the velodrome, winning a silver medal at the Olympics in Sydney in 2000 before claiming his first gold in the 1km time trial in Athens four years later.

In 2008 he returned from the Games in Beijing with a haul of three golds, and at London 2012 he was chosen as Team GB’s flag-bearer before powering to two more golds. His tally of six golds and seven medals made him the country’s most successful ever Olympic athlete at the time.

Announcing his retirement from track cycling in 2013, Sir Chris turned his hand to motorsport, racing in the Radical SR-1 Cup and then a Nissan GT-R GT3 in the British GT championship, before stepping up to the European Le Mans Series in 2015 where he took the title alongside compatriot Charlie Robertson.

The following year Sir Chris made it to the big time, racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category with Michael Munemann and Andrea Pizzitola. They finished 12th in class and 17th overall. “Nothing short of magical” is how he described it to TopGear.com afterwards.

No surprise then that Sir Chris would go on to be TGTV’s fastest ever Star in a Reasonably Fast Car, appearing in Series 24 and clocking a 1m 35.4s in a Toyota GT86 that would never be bettered.

The whole Top Gear team would like to extend its best wishes to Sir Chris, Lady Hoy and their family.