Sir Chris Hoy talks about your lottery support

"If I could give a message to those who play the lottery it would be thank you. It has had such a massive impact for British Cycling and for me - hopefully they can see results when the medals come in."

The accolades did not stop last year for a Scottish cyclist who rode his way into Olympic Games history having first been inspired to climb on to a bike when he was six because of an extra-terrestrial.

Watching the blockbuster movie ET, and the scenes where the young stars of the film make their escape on bikes, was the moment a superstar was born. Twenty-seven years on, it is now Sir Chris Hoy after a remarkable performance in Beijing, where he became the first Briton to win three gold medals at one Olympic Games since 1908 and the most successful Olympic male cyclist of all time.

Having won silver as part of the Team Sprint in Sydney in 2000, he achieved his first Olympic Games gold in the 1km track time trial in Athens in 2004 before his triple glory in the Team Sprint, Keirin and Sprint in Beijing.

An ambassador for London 2012, he will be one of the biggest British names at the Olympic Games in London. Hoy has insisted that had it not been for those who play The National Lottery he might never have been able to reach this amazing level.