I've realised I can make a difference - Hoy

Sir Chris Hoy is successful his kitchen, chatting astir early-morning java and fry-ups.

And mindsets.

An Olympic champion's mindset to beryllium exact.

An exacting, leave-no-stone-unturned, meticulous mindset that defined a profession successful which he won six golden medals and 1 metallic crossed 4 Olympic Games.

This is nan aforesaid mindset he is relying connected much than ever to reframe his full beingness and intent pursuing a terminal crab diagnosis.

"We usually person a fry-up for meal but, erstwhile you guys are here, we request to make an effort," he jokes.

The "you" successful this lawsuit are nan BBC cameras that person been pursuing Hoy and his family and friends for nan past 12 months for nan documentary Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me.

The programme will beryllium broadcast for nan first clip astatine 21:00 GMT connected Thursday, 18 December connected BBC One and disposable from 22:00 GMT connected BBC iPlayer and nan BBC Sport website and app.

It shows a hopeful, yet raw, portrayal of nan realities of surviving pinch shape 4 cancer, while it besides brings to life Hoy's realisation that he tin usage his level arsenic a unit for raising awareness, and money, for different group surviving pinch nan illness.

Sir Chris Hoy: Cancer, Courage and Me

As he weighs his java – possibly nan number 1 area wherever Hoy's obsessive oculus for item manifests itself – nan Scot is successful an upbeat mood, laughing and joking pinch woman Sarra astir their imagined accustomed greeting script of a afloat English meal compared to nan omelette and greenish homemade smoothie they are really tucking into.

It has not been anyplace adjacent this rosy for overmuch of nan past 2 years, however, arsenic Hoy explains a fewer minutes later erstwhile nan cameras are rolling properly.

"It's astir 5 miles from nan infirmary backmost home," he says, describing his return travel from seeing doctors aft learning of his crab test successful September 2023. "I conscionable walked backmost successful a daze. I don't retrieve nan walk. I was conscionable thinking, really americium I going to show Sarra? What americium I going to say?

"As soon arsenic I said nan words, I collapsed down."

What Hoy had to articulate was a terminal crab diagnosis. Incurable secondary bony cancer. Between 2 and 4 years to live.

"In my sporting profession it utilized to beryllium astir process, not outcome," he says. "Focus connected what you person power over. But if you triumph aliases lose, it's not life and death.

"[After nan diagnosis] nan stakes person changed dramatically. The rule is nan aforesaid – but now it is life and death."

Hoy has shrewdly taken connected support for this difficult clip successful his life.

Steve Peters is simply a man that Hoy knew could make a difference.

The database of sportspeople that Peters has worked pinch - nan nationalist database he is happy to talk astir connected nan grounds - is simply a high-profile 'who's who' ranging from Steven Gerrard to Ronnie O'Sullivan.

The donkeys successful nan beforehand paddock of nan psychiatrist's countryside location bely that glitzy, glamourous list.

But their tranquil quality make complete consciousness erstwhile you walk a fewer hours successful nan institution of Peters and Hoy.

Peters was Hoy's first larboard of telephone passim his profession erstwhile it came to training and calming his mind to beryllium astatine its highest successful and astir Olympic competition.

He was besides 1 of nan first group Hoy called erstwhile he sewage his terminal test past year.

At first Peters was portion of nan firefighting shape of what Hoy's woman Sarra describes arsenic a "deep grief" successful nan first fewer days post-diagnosis.

But successful time, pinch Peters' help, Hoy group astir uncovering a caller purpose.

Firstly, it is to raise consciousness of nan limitations of nan existent proviso for prostate crab successful nan UK. Both Hoy's begetter and grandfather person had prostate cancer.

Understandably, fixed an earlier test could person shifted his test from terminal to manageable, nan 49-year-old Scot argues eloquently that a nationalist screening programme should beryllium made a privilege for men from their 45th day onwards.

But, crucially, his attack is besides to show different group surviving pinch crab that athletics and workout tin still beryllium a affirmative portion of their lives, moreover done their treatment.

Peters explains: "What Chris did erstwhile he was presented pinch this unwellness is he said: 'Right, what's nan plan?' After we worked done nan first stages of nan daze and condolences of it, past he came retired nan different broadside and he picked up connected nan purpose.

"And that was to scope different people. It became a ngo for him."

Peters knows each excessively good really unstoppable Hoy tin beryllium erstwhile a ngo takes him over.

The brace person now worked together for much than 20 years, pinch possibly their crowning infinitesimal coming astatine nan Athens 2004 Games.

It was successful nan Greek superior that Peters' "pink elephant" method helped Hoy triumph his first Olympic gold. In nan run-up to Athens, Peters had encouraged Hoy to pre-empt a script successful which his rivals collapsed nan world grounds successful nan men's kilometre clip proceedings earlier nan Scot had his chance to ride. The script became reality connected 3 occasions, but alternatively than falter, Hoy, nan past to ride, responded pinch a world grounds of his ain to return gold.

The mindset of that infinitesimal is 1 he is tapping into again pinch his attack to cancer. Control nan controllables, but don't discarded clip worrying astir nan extremity result.

Just for illustration successful Athens.

"As I went to nan commencement line, a individual champion would person sewage maine third," Hoy remembers.

"Recognising what you person power complete is specified an important portion of life. Focus connected what you person power complete - but nan result itself, you don't person power over.

"Steve helped maine to entree nan champion of myself, and get nan champion retired of myself."

The BBC Breakfast and BBC Sport cameras witnessed Hoy, pinch nan thief of Lady Sarra - who herself is dealing pinch her ain test of aggregate sclerosis - making nan champion of his crab test successful nan past 12 months.

They person followed Hoy and his family to expert and physio appointments and retired connected upland motorcycle rides successful Wales pinch a GB Olympic cycling A-list group of riders and friends.

That aforesaid formed database turned retired successful Glasgow successful September arsenic Hoy and a big of his supporters took his cycling fundraising arena nan Tour de Four from conception to transportation wrong a fewer months.

It is conscionable aft 9am successful a backmost room of nan Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome successful Glasgow – a fewer minutes earlier Hoy's kindness wide information cycling event, nan Tour de Four, is owed to get nether way.

The thrust was group up, and fixed its title, successful an effort to alteration perceptions astir shape 4 cancer.

Every clip nan doorway opens, a personnel of British Olympic and Paralympic royalty walks done it.

Sir Mark Cavendish, Sir Jason Kenny, Becky James, Dani King, Sir Ben Ainslie, Sir Steve Redgrave, Dame Sarah Storey...

In and among nan clip-clop of cycling cleats comes different sporting knight.

This 1 is wearing tennis shoes.

Hoy goes complete to cheque successful pinch Sir Andy Murray astir his readiness and is met pinch a emblematic sardonic quip from his chap Scot.

Hoy asks: "Are you emotion fresh mate?"

"Well, I've sewage nan kit," Murray responds.

As it turns out, nan two-time Wimbledon champion was woefully ill-prepared – completing nan thrust successful tennis shoes and boxer shorts. Not emblematic roadworthy cycling gear, but emblematic of nan consequence of Hoy's friends to his diagnosis.

"The consequence of friends has been rather overwhelming astatine times," Hoy says.

The friend consequence has been mirrored by that of nan public.

September's Tour de Four raised much than £3m for crab charities crossed nan UK.

However, nan highs of that occurrence were followed successful November by nan UK National Screening Committee's proposal that a prostate screening crab programme for each men successful nan UK was not justified.

For Hoy, nan conflict to raise money and raise consciousness is his caller Olympic-sized ngo and his consequence truthful was dignified, yet resolutely determined.

"I was rather astonished," he said. "I can't judge that nan reply to this business is to beryllium connected your hands and do nothing. There are 10,000 men a twelvemonth successful nan UK who find retired they person prostate crab excessively precocious – it's incurable.

"We're failing these men if we don't do thing proactive. Regardless, I'm going to support pushing."

Again, we meet his Olympic-honed mindset, targeted connected a bigger mission.

"The Olympics was thing that was my life for truthful galore years and drove maine on," Hoy says.

"I'm still incredibly proud of it now and I look backmost pinch awesome fondness, but this is thing connected an wholly different level.

"It's much important than riding bikes successful anti-clockwise circles, put it that way."