Hoy has shrewdly taken on support for this difficult time in his life.

Steve Peters is a man that Hoy knew could make a difference.

The list of sportspeople that Peters has worked with – the public list he is happy to talk about on the record – is a high-profile ‘who’s who’ ranging from Steven Gerrard to Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The donkeys in the front paddock of the psychiatrist’s countryside home bely that glitzy, glamourous list.

But their tranquil nature make complete sense when you spend a few hours in the company of Peters and Hoy.

Peters was Hoy’s first port of call throughout his career when it came to training and calming his mind to be at its peak in and around Olympic competition.

He was also one of the first people Hoy called when he got his terminal diagnosis last year.

At first Peters was part of the firefighting phase of what Hoy’s wife Sarra describes as a “deep grief” in the first few days post-diagnosis.

But in time, with Peters’ help, Hoy set about finding a new purpose.

Firstly, it is to raise awareness of the limitations of the current provision for prostate cancer in the UK. Both Hoy’s father and grandfather have had prostate cancer.

Understandably, given an earlier diagnosis could have shifted his diagnosis from terminal to manageable, the 49-year-old Scot argues eloquently that a national screening programme should be made a priority for men from their 45th birthday onwards.

But, crucially, his approach is also to show other people living with cancer that sport and exercise can still be a positive part of their lives, even through their treatment.

Peters explains: “What Chris did when he was presented with this illness is he said: ‘Right, what’s the plan?’ After we worked through the initial stages of the shock and grief of it, then he came out the other side and he picked up on the purpose.

“And that was to reach other people. It became a mission for him.”