Sir Chris Hoy prepares to announce his retirement

Olympian Sir Chris Hoy is expected to announce his retirement this week.

The cycling hero with the monster 27in thighs is almost certain not to compete at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in 2014.

The six-time Olympic gold medallist will announce his decision at a press conference in Edinburgh on Thursday.

The 37-year-old’s retirement before the competition begins at the arena named in his honour, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, will be a blow for organisers.

Hoy has been considering his future in cycling after a brilliant summer that saw him scoop two golds at London 2012.

At the Track World Cup in the Glasgow velodrome last November, Hoy said he would wait until spring to “see whether my body’s dealing with the training” before deciding on his future.

He said: “Being here and seeing the stadium hasn’t made me want to be there any more. I couldn’t have wanted it any more.

“You can visualise what it will be like. To have a home Commonwealth Games on the back of a home Olympic Games, not many riders have that chance, so I’m certainly not lacking motivation about making it to the Games.”

Significantly, he added: “It’s about whether my body can hold on.”

While his retirement will disappoint many fans, the Scot will continue to play an ambassadorial role for Glasgow 2014.

His announcement will mark the end of a spectacular career that saw him compete in four Olympic Games and dominate track cycling for more than 10 years.

Edinburgh-born Hoy – who started out on BMXs as a boy – won his first Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 for the one-kilometre time trial, before winning three more gold medals in Beijing in 2008 for the team sprint, keirin and sprint events.

The 2008 hat-trick saw Hoy become the first Briton in 100 years to win three gold medals at one Games. The last was swimmer Henry Taylor in 1908.

Hoy added two golds in London last year for team sprint and keirin events, overtaking Sir Steve Redgrave as the Briton with the most gold medals.

But he wasn’t just an Olympic champ. He won Commonwealth golds in 2002 and 2006 plus 11 world titles.

In 2008, he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year then knighted in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

Yesterday the athlete remained tight-lipped about Thursday’s conference, only tweeting to wish rower Tim Brabants – who won gold in Beijing in 2008 – well after he also announced his retirement.

Tributes poured in for the cyclist ahead of the announcement.

Scottish triathlon champion Helen Jenkins wrote: “Chris Hoy and Tim Brabants both announcing retirement today. Both amazing athletes and inspirations to me.”

Broadcaster Dan Snow wrote: “Sir Chris Hoy’s retirement is like the death of Nelson: a national tragedy – but one preceded by the annihilation of all our adversaries.”