CYCLING -01/11/2009
Staff: Hoy gets better
Staff, 36, along with Hoy and Jason Kenny captured team sprint gold in Beijing last year, before Hoy went on to capture individual sprint and keirin gold in the Far East.
A hip injury suffered at the Copenhagen World Cup in February kept Hoy out of the saddle for eight months and ensured he missed out on the World Championships in March.
But having collected three golds at the National Championships last week and followed that up with three more victories in the season-opening World Cup, Hoy has hit the boards running.
And after Staff led the Team Sky+ HD trio to gold in Manchester, defeating compatriots Kenny, Matthew Crampton and David Daniell, the former BMX world champion is convinced Hoy has got even better.
"Things are looking OK," he said. "That time (43.423) is not too far off the Beijing standard so we're looking good.
"And I think Chris is the strongest of the lot and he's just got better and better. Having the riding group of us six is such a great help.
"When you're in training it's like you're in the Olympics. Every time one goes up and sets a standard all the others are trying to out do each other and it's great to watch."
And while Hoy remained typically modest, he admitted he believes he is not far from his very best.
"I really think it's comparable to the form I was in approaching Beijing, and if not then very close," he added. "I think my split for the final was 13.02 and that's the fastest ever so things are going well."
Meanwhile, Chris Newton, who has already taken points race gold in Manchester this weekend, was forced to settle for seventh in the scratch race as victory went to Russia's Ivan Kovalev.