Kian Emadi is set to fill Sir Chris Hoy’s shoes and emulate Jason Kenny at the Track Cycling World Championships next week – but he is vowing not to be daunted by the challenge at all.
Emadi was named as part of Britain’s 16-strong team for his first World Championships last week where will form part of the sprint squad alongside Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes and Matt Crampton.
He will join forces with Olympic champions Kenny and Hindes in the team sprint in Minsk, taking over the man three role normally occupied by Hoy, who will not compete in Belarus.
Fellow Olympic champion Ed Clancy had looked set to be the man to fill in for Hoy, and not Emadi, however he has since returned back to the endurance squad and the team pursuit.
At just 20-years-old Emadi will make his World Championship debut at exactly the same age that triple Olympic champion Kenny, now 24, did however he’s taking it all in his stride.
“Obviously it’s exciting to be selected and a big honour to go but at the end of the day it is another bike race,” Emadi, whose speed has been good enough to impress coach Iain Dyer, told British Cycling.
“If you can apply the same sort of steps that you do in training and your usual racing then everything should sort of turn out alright.
“Chris has stepped down for a bit so they are looking for a replacement for the team for man three. That’s the position they are looking to fill.
“Obviously it is big shoes to fill and Jason and Phil are the best in the world in their positions on their day so it’s going to be exciting but you just have to go for it and see what happens.
“It’s always difficult to compare yourself to Jason because he is probably the best in the world and he has always been very fast from an early age.”
Emadi will also ride the individual sprint in Minsk after a season that has seen him make his maiden Track World Cup appearance, winning silver in the kilo at the opening round in Colombia.
And Emadi insists keeping his composure will be key in both events with Britain’s team sprint trio of Hindes, Kenny and Hoy disqualified last year for an illegal changeover in the opening round.
“You never know until you get there on the race day but I think the big thing is to get on at the start and once you’re on it’s a matter of being efficient and patient and waiting for your turn,” he added.
“If I can just put a solid lap in the team sprint together and then in the individual sprint improve some of the issues I have had in the past, put together all the things I have learned in training, it should be a good experience.”
© Sportsbeat 2013