Recipe for success: The diet that gives Britain’s Chris 'Golden Thighs' Hoy his gold medal-winning quadriceps

•Sir Hoy eats 6,000 calories a day to fuel intense workouts
•Cyclist's thighs measure a whopping 27 inches in circumference
•Spends three hours every day on the cycle track and two hours in the gym

By Bianca London

Athletes are famous for their toned and slender physiques.

But one of this year's Olympic hopefuls has earned the nickname 'Golden Thighs' because of his whopping 27 inch thighs- that's four inches wider than Victoria Beckham's waist.

When Olympic cyclist Sir Chris Hoy was measured for his Team GB kit last week he admitted to being bottom heavy and having to buy trousers two sizes too big.

The 36-year-old cycling star said his waist size remains a youthful 32-inches, particularly impressive given that he is 6ft 1in tall and weighs more than 14 stone but admits to having to buy size 36-inch trousers, just to accommodate his gigantic thighs.

Snugly clad in Lycra shorts in Union Jack colours, it is these thighs on which Britain's Olympic hopes rest this summer.

The same thighs have powered Sir Chris to win four gold Olympic gold medals, enabling him to reach a whopping 48.8mph on a bike.

But Hoy wasn't born with his phenomenal thighs and works extremely hard to maintain the legs that he hopes will carry Britain to gold this summer.

His winning physique is achieved through a punishing exercise regime and a 6,000-calorie-a-day diet.

For breakfast it's a bowl of cereal with semi-skimmed milk, chopped banana and honey, washed down with a fruit smoothie, an orange juice, a protein shake and a coffee.

Lunch is a meal-replacement shake and dinner is chicken, vegetables and a pasta bake.

Hoy spends three hours every day on the cycle track and two hours in the gym where he lies flat on a bench and uses his feet to lift weights of 35 stone, an incredible two-and-a-half times his own body weight.

This superhuman strength has also earned Hoy a second nickname: Hoycules.