Hoy imagines glory at velodrome

Sir Chris Hoy imagined himself doing a lap of honour at the London 2012 Games as he went for a ride for the first time at the Olympic velodrome.

Watched by a crew of cheering builders who had stopped work to look, the four-time Olympic cycle champion did circuits of a mocked-up 75m track inside the part-built venue.

Sir Chris, 33, at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, exactly two years before the Games start, said: "Just walking in here you get the feeling that this is an Olympic venue. This is where it is going to take place and hopefully where I will win one more Olympic gold medal."

He added: "Just looking up at the stand and even the cheers from the construction workers, you can feel what it will be like when it is full to the rafters and being in an Olympic final.

"You can really sense it is getting more enthusiastic - two years to go, I really cannot wait."

Sports minister Hugh Robertson said the £550million pledged to Olympic sport in the run-up to 2012 could not be guaranteed in total ahead of the Government's comprehensive spending review this autumn, but that most of the money had already been received by the sports.

Robertson said: "There is still a question over the £550m funding for Olympic sports and it is called the comprehensive spending review, and we will know the answer in October.

"But the majority of this has gone through the system already - only £85m is due in 2011. If there is one thing left standing it will be elite athlete funding. It's all about support for the athletes."

Robertson said the proposed merger of UK Sport and Sport England would provide more money for sport, while Lottery cash and private sector income should also increase.

He added: "There cannot be a sensible brain in sport that thinks it's better to have separate organisations in separate offices in the middle of central London. It was in our policy document so it should not have been a terrific surprise to anyone."