JASON Kenny's dream of Olympic glory ahead of Sir Chris Hoy gathers pace this week at the track cycling World Championship in Pruszkow, Poland.
Kenny admits he has thought about the prospect of reversing his Beijing sprint one-two with the four-time Olympic champion and finishing on top of the podium in London 2012.
However, Kenny, who turned 21 yesterday, is aware he has to be patient in
his bid to overtake the Scot. When asked if he had contemplated defeating Hoy in London, Kenny explained: "Yes, but to be honest four years is such a long time."
He added: "When you look at where Chris was four years ago (he was Olympic kilometre champion], you wouldn't have said you'd be racing him in the final of the sprint.
"When you look at where I was as well, I was under-16 at the time. I'm not expecting anything just yet and we'll just see how we go when we get a bit closer."
That illustrates how far Kenny has come in such a short period of time.
Kenny, from Bolton, was fifth in the sprint in the world championships in Manchester last March before five months later challenging Hoy for the gold at the Laoshan Velodrome.
But Kenny knows, with the world championships beginning 1,219 days before the opening ceremony in London, time is on his side. "It'd be good to be competitive and on the podium at world championships but in the long term, London's the main goal – it's always in the back of your mind," added Kenny.
"That was the one that I was aiming for when I was picked up as a talented youngster and that's what I've always been training for and I'll just carry on."
Kenny is yet to recover his brilliant Olympic form but he is not suffering from a bout of the Beijing blues.
He added: "I was going so well and realistically it's hard to get that back. But going back to training and looking at your training times and your form, that was quite hard.
"Motivation hasn't really been a problem. I've just been really enjoying it since the Olympics, being a bit competitive in training sessions.
"I'm always comparing myself to the other guys, which you probably shouldn't do, but it keeps me going.
"I've come back home and everything's gone back to normal. Still doing the washing up and things, it's quite nice."
Kenny has locked down the No 2 position in the team sprint, which takes place today, but Hoy's absence – with a hip injury that the Scot sustained during a nasty fall in a 40mph crash at the Copenhagen World Cup last month – breaks up the Olympic-winning trio. Matt Crampton and Ross Edgar are vying for position three, with Jamie Staff already penned in for the crucial opening slot.
"He's head and shoulders above us in a standing start," said Kenny of Staff. "I can't see anyone challenging him."
Britain finished second to France last March and have not won the team sprint at the world championships since 2005.
But Kenny is confident of claiming top spot on the podium. "Hopefully we'll be competitive against the rest of the world, the French and co, who'll be going well," he said.
Kenny could also compete in the keirin, taking the place of defending champion Hoy, but he is happy to focus on the two events in which he is certain to ride.
He added: "I'm not sure about the keirin, I'm not sure how many places there are. I'd like to ride, but I'm just concentrating on the team sprint and the sprint."
Hoy is not the only one missing from the Great Britain team. Bradley Wiggins, who won three golds a year ago, is pursuing a road career and women's pursuit champion Rebecca Romero is taking a break from the track.
Still, Britain boast a bevy of talented riders who will be going for gold. Steven Burke and Wendy Houvenaghel, who took silver in the men's and women's individual pursuit behind Wiggins and Romero respectively, have strong hopes of winning those events in Poland. And Mark Cavendish, who won four Tour de France stages in 2008, is a surprise inclusion on the team. Cavendish is expected to ride in the scratch race and madison.
