SIR Chris Hoy insists it would be foolish to write off Jason Kenny’s chances of an individual medal at next year's Olympic Games, despite his poor showing at the Track Cycling World Championships.

Bolton's Olympic sprint champion Kenny finished the championships with no medals to his name.

But Hoy believes Kenny can bring his best to the track when it really matters and expects to see the 27-year-old battling for the podium in Rio.

“It was quite strange to see how Jason performed, from what I’ve seen and heard his preparations were going very well, he often doesn’t show his best form until the last minute,” said Hoy.

“The expectations were quite high, but it’s down to fractions and little decisions that go for and against you in a race, that can flip the whole thing on its head.

“If you look at Glasgow he didn’t qualify well, but he ended up winning the first and second round and all of a sudden he makes it to the final and wins a silver medal.

“Things can happen at any stage, I definitely wouldn’t discount Jason for an individual medal in Rio.

“He’s a champion, he likes to perform when it really counts and his rivals know he bring his A-game when it matters most.”

While Britain finished top of the medal table at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Hoy doesn’t believe the same level of success will be reached in Rio.

But he thinks that the team can still have successful Games as long as expectations can be managed.

“We lost a bit of experience after the Olympics. London was something we prepared for, for eight years. Beijing was almost a surprise to all of us, we were expecting to be at our best in London but that was incredible,” he added.

“Success creates its own problems and pressures, and now if you’re the British Olympic Team going into Rio, you’ve a realistic chance of medalling in maybe half if not 60 per cent of the medal events and you’d think that’s great.

“But in cycling, unless it’s a gold medal, it’s seen as being a massive failure and it’s managing those expectations of the public and media.

“We do still have realistic chances but I don’t think we’ll have another Beijing or London but I don’t think that’s a massive surprise or disappointment, I still think we have a successful Games in Rio but with less medals than previous Games.”

Hoy was speaking at the SSE Arena at Wembley, where he is a mentor for SSE's Next Generation programme, which provides vital financial and development support to 100 young athletes from across the UK and Ireland.

nSSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen