Baxter retired from ski racing in April

Former Olympic skier Alain Baxter has been forced to delay his cycling debut after withdrawing from the national track championships because of illness.

The 35-year-old, who was stripped of an Olympic skiing bronze in 2002, was due to take on Sir Chris Hoy in Manchester.

"I was really looking forward to racing against Chris Hoy as it would have been a pretty big experience.

"I might have got away with not being fully fit in skiing but this is brand new for me," Baxter told BBC Sport.

Baxter was forced to retire from competitive skiing earlier this year because of a back problem but wants to get into Olympic contention as a cyclist for 2012.

606: DEBATE Do you think Alain Baxter can adapt to cycling?

At the national track championships, he was due to compete in Thursday's sprint and Saturday's keirin against Olympic champion Hoy.

Baxter has yet to decide when he will now make his competitive debut on a bike, but it could come at one of the Revolution series events, the first of which takes place on 14 November.

He added: "Cycling is about power so you need to be fit and because of the flu I'm not so I did not see any point in trying.

"It's really disappointing as I've been in training all summer but there will be other opportunities to try and get into the Scotland team for the Commonwealth Games."

Edinburgh-born Baxter won Britain's first Olympic skiing medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics, but was stripped of it after failing a doping test.

He put it down to using an American nasal inhaler, which contained a banned substance which was not present in the British version of the same product.

He was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport but his medal was not returned.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version