Thousands welcome home his Royal Hoyness

AUGUST 27 - THOUSANDS of Scots lined the streets of the Royal Mail in Edinburgh to welcome home triple gold medal winning cyclist Chris Hoy (pictured) today.

The 32-year-old, nicknamed his "Royal Hoyness" and the "Real McHoy" by his fans, was the undoubted star of the open bus tour round the city he was born and grew up in.

But there were also plenty of cheers for Olympic silver medallists Katherine Grainger, Ross Edgar and David Florence on the triumphant journey.

Crowds surrounded the red and white bus as it made its way slowly towards Holyrood Palace.

Dozens of Saltires were fluttering in the breeze as well-wishers cheered on their Olympic heroes.

The bus finished its journey, taking just over an hour, and parked at the edge of Holyrood Park.

The athletes were greeted by cheers from a waiting crowd and posed draped in the saltire on top of the double-decker bus.

They got off the vehicle and began signing autographs for waiting schoolchildren and other well-wishers.

Among the crowd were about 30 protesters campaigning to save the Meadowbank sports centre and velodrome, where Hoy learned to ride as a youngster but is now threatened with closure.

The city's Lord Provost George Grubb told the cyclist, who is heavily tipped to receive a knighthood in the Queen's New Year's Honours List, the city was "proud and inspired" by his achievements in Beijing where he became the first Briton for a century to win three gold medals in a single Games.

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Grubb said: "Chris Hoy is now Scotland's most successful ever Olympian and everyone in Edinburgh is immensely proud of him.

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"Watching him power to victory three times in Beijing was truly inspirational and the city's open-top bus parade gives as many people as possible the chance to join in the celebrations.

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"I'm sure that Edinburgh will give all of the winning medallists a fantastic welcome home."

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Grainger won a silver in the quadruple sculls rowing, while Edgar was second in the keirin cycling event behind Hoy and Florence was runner-up in the slalom canoeing.

Edgar, 25, said: "Just to be in the same era as Chris, it's an amazing thing."

Earlier, the medallists has attended a special reception in their honour at Edinburgh Castle.

Hoy said: "To come back home to the reception I've received - it's almost overwhelming.

"It has been incredible.

"This is a special moment for me being back and at this iconic location."

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Louise Martin, the chair of Sportscotland, were also at the castle to welcome the athletes back.

Simon Clegg, the chief executive of the British Olympic Association, praised the Scottish athletes.

He said: "Scotland made an outstanding and critical contribution to the success of Team GB."

Scottish athletes were represented in 12 out of 20 sports in which the British team participated.

And in two sports, tennis and canoe slalom, the participants were exclusively Scottish, Clegg said.

He said: "I think that's a huge testament to Scottish sport.

"I do not believe there's been a more exciting time."

First Minister Alex Salmond had earlier this week called for Scotland to have its own separate team at the Olympics, which Hoy said he opposed because they would not be as successful without central British funding and access to facilities, most of which are located outside Scotland, including the velodrome in Manchester where he trains.

It is proving to be a highly controversial proposal, with opposition politicians accusing the SNP of putting self-interest before the interests of sport.

Sturgeon said: "The Scottish Government's overriding priority is to see an increase in sporting participation rates throughout Scotland.

"The success of our four medallists can only be a major influence on our young people and help inspire the heroes of tomorrow."

The surge in popularity that Hoy has enjoyed since his Beijing triumph can be guaged by the fact that "Heroes, Villains & Velodromes", the book written by Richard Moore and which is about the Scottish cyclist's rise to the top, is now Britain's number one selling sports book and the 14th most popular in the hardback non-fiction charts.