The traction of sane cycling tweeters continued to gain momentum on Saturday when it was announced that none other than Sir Chris Hoy joined the ranks of those in the twitterverse.
Sir Chris at the Track Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan (photo courtesy of VeloUK)
“It was important for me to take this step into the world of technology as I’ve seen what being engaged has done for Mark Cavendish,” declared the recent winner of sprint gold at the World Championships in Kazakhstan. “I’m looking forward to being a valuable member of the Britsh Cycling takeover of twitter leading up to the London Olympics.”
Cycling insiders were prolific in their tongue-wagging over the development.
“This is bigger than Lance Armstrong on twitter. It’s outstanding to have someone in cycling with something intelligent to say joining the social media platform. There are only so many bloody Lance twitfomercials I can take before I start stabbing my eyeballs,” declared SBS pundit Mike Tomalaris.
Pez Cycling News resident grump Alastair Hamilton was also unusually chipper about the development.
“Having Sir Hoy and Mark Cavendish in the British twitter contingent gives us a formidable one-two punch to counteract the Swiss, Dutch, Belgian, and French twitter cycling power, and will hopefully mute that gent who thinks he’s king of American cycling. His smug yellow tripe has met its match in the distinguished knight of the track,” commented Hamilton.
When members of the cycling twitterati from the opposite side of the Atlantic were reached for comment, most of them were unsure about who Sir Hoy actually was, let alone the importance of his contribution to cycling in general. However, Bicycling Magazine did offer this official statement: “While Sir Chris Hoy is an important figure for British cycling, his impact in the United States isn’t significant enough to merit inclusion in our online survey asking which current pro our readers might like to ride with.” It should be noted that Lance Armstrong, who retired in 2010, is leading this category in Bicycling Magazine‘s poll.
When asked why his popularity was dwarfed by Armstrong’s in the United States, Sir Hoy replied thoughtfully, “It must be that I’m honest, friendly, (relatively) healthy, and I’m okay with finishing in second place.” [Referring to his recent silver medal at the World Track championships.] The phenom of the velodrome continued, “These are attributes that apparently aren’t popular with the American public, but maybe I can change that through my presence on twitter.” With only three tweets under his belt so far and nearly 11,000 followers, the four-time Olympic track cycling champion is off to a good start.
Sir Hoy will be competing in a variety of events leading up to the London Olympics in 2012, and will be actively tweeting his exploits as a lead-up to the games. Be sure to follow his progress on twitter at @chrishoy.
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