All About Manchester

Year of sport

2008 will be the biggest sporting year in Manchester since the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with a record number of world championships and other prestigious events coming up. We pick three of the best reasons to cheer.

The Squash Player

Nick Matthew, 27, England No. 1 squash player

Event: Hi-Tech World Squash Championships

What do you consider the biggest achievement of your career so far? Winning the British Open last year.

What has been your biggest disappointment? The fact that squash in not in the Olympic Games so far.

What motivates you? When I train I push myself to my limit. I'd hate to get to the end of my career and look back and think I could have done this better or that better. You've only got a certain number of years so you might as well put everything in it. Then when I'm on court I'm pretty competitive, the drive to win takes over. The hard work is done in the training and then it's easy to transfer that onto the court.

What would be a dream come true in your career? To become number one in the world. I've had one-off successes but to do that you need to show that you are the best player over the course of a full year. And that's the ultimate success to me.

What do you think of our National Squash Centre? It's been a home from home for me because I'm part of the England squad and we train here every other week in the summer. So I'm very comfortable in this squash centre and I've had some good successes here as well.

Where else do you go when you're in town? I quite like the Printworks area, we always seem to end up going down there.

How big an event is the World Squash Championships in the world squash calendar? It's the biggest. It's the event everyone wants to win and everyone strives for. I remember hearing people who've been both world number one and world champion say that they actually got more recognition from becoming the world champion so it's the ultimate accolade.

The 64 best players in the world will be competing in the men's championship next year. That must make you a bit nervous. The tournaments we play are usually 16 or 32 draws, but because this is such a big draw you could be upset from round one so you have to be on your guard. But I think you must let your training speak for itself. And obviously the fact that it is being held in Manchester is great news for me because I'm so comfortable here. Hopefully I can use that to my advantage.

Who are you going to be looking out for? The last few years the Egyptians have come strong. At the moment Egypt has the number one and two players in the world, so they are going to be strong for the next few years.

Who would you like to see win the women's championship? In the women's game we have four or five English players on the same level but they are not quite challenging the Malaysian girl and two Australians in the top three or four. It'd be good if they could make that breakthrough next year and get an English girl at least in the final.

The Olympic Cyclist

Chris Hoy, 31, Olympic and world champion cyclist

Event: UCI Track Cycling World Championships

After winning the Olympics and world championships are you still hungry for titles? I still have the hunger, even after having raced for 12 years at international level, because ultimately I enjoy what I do. To get up every morning and put yourself through the monotony and pain of the training you have to enjoy it.

Everyone has very high expectations of you - does that put a lot of pressure on you? The British team as a whole has been so successful that everywhere we go we are expected to come away with a gold medal, so it's hard. But in a way it's a nice position to be in because we now have this aura about us - you turn up in a GB jersey and you get respect.

Why should people come to the world championships in Manchester? It's going to be the qualifying event for Beijing, the only opportunity we have to get our places for the Olympics, and there are world titles on the line, so competition will be fierce. Plus this is a fantastic venue and it's famous for its atmosphere.

Who are people going to come to see from around the world? The biggest stars in the world of cycling are going to be here. Guys like Theo Bos from the Netherlands, who's four or five times world champion and who will be the main man to beat in the sprint event. And the Aussies, who are always tough to beat. To have the world championships here in Manchester is a big advantage for the British team. So although we'll be competing against the very best in the world I think we have a good chance of beating them.

The World Champion Cyclist

Victoria Pendleton, 26, triple world champion track cyclist

Event: UCI Track Cycling World Championships

You were triple world champion in 2007. Are you going for four titles in 2008? Winning three titles at the world championships in 2007 was amazing, it was more than I ever imagined to achieve in one competition so I am looking forward to 2008. I'd like to go for a four medal haul - it may be difficult depending on the scheduling of the events but I'll do my best.

Who will you be looking out for? It's the qualification event for the Olympics so all the Olympic front runners will be coming to the Manchester World Championships. Natallia Tsylinskaya from Belarus has many world titles to her name already and I think she'll be trying to regain a title or two. Also I think the Chinese team will be very strong. Guo Shuang finished second in a couple of events this year, so the world championships will be very important for making her mark.

What do you think makes Manchester different from any other city in the UK? For me, the Velodrome is here and there aren't that many velodromes in the world let alone in this country. So this is the centre of British cycling and all the GB cycling squad are based here.

What do you like to do in Manchester when you're not training? I like to go shopping for shoes in Manchester city centre. I don't need them but it's always good to have a little look about.

Manchester World Sport 08 at a glance:

UCI Track Cycling World Championships, March 26 - 30, 2008, The Velodrome - National Cycling Centre, Sportcity. Tickets are on sale now. Tel: 0871 230 2621. www.worldtrackcycling.com

9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 (25m), April 9 - 13, 2008, MEN Arena. Tickets are on sale now. Tel: 0871 230 9864. www.manchester2008.com

UEFA Cup Final, May 14, 2008, City of Manchester Stadium. www.uefa.com

BUPA Great Manchester Run, May 18, 2008, Manchester city centre. www.greatrun.org

Hi-Tec World Squash Championships Manchester 2008, October 11 - 19, 2008, National Squash Centre, Sportcity. Tickets go on sale from Sept 20, 2007. www.worldsquash2008.com

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