Champion cyclist Chris Hoy said he was “delighted” at his knighthood and his mother’s MBE, which mean that three generations of his family have now been honoured by the Queen.

The athlete, who became the first Briton in 100 years to win three golds at a single Olympics at the Beijing Games, described the knighthood as an “amazing honour”.

His mother Carol Hoy, a retired nurse, is recognised for her work on sleep-related illnesses, 20 years after her own mother Isa Reid also received an MBE.

Hoy’s knighthood crowns what he describes as the best year of his life.

The 32-year-old said: “It’s bizarre, it almost seems like it’s not real.

“To get it from doing something you love, riding your bike — it was a hobby, then it became a career.

“To become a knight from riding your bike, it’s mad.

“But it is, genuinely, just an amazing honour. It’s also great for the sport.”

And he spoke of his pride at seeing his mother honoured.

He said: “I was as delighted with my mum getting her MBE as I was with my knighthood.

“The department she worked for became the top sleep lab in Europe.

“They’ve done numerous studies there which have broken new ground.”

Asked if they would go to the Palace on the same day, Hoy said: “I don’t know how it’ll work.

“I wouldn’t want her day to be overshadowed by me but it would be nice if we were both there together.”

Mrs Hoy (61) was a senior nurse at the Department of Sleep Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh until her retirement.

She began her 43-year nursing career in 1965 and spent the last three decades of it working in sleep medicine.

She said: “I was really shocked to get an MBE.

“It was the last thing I expected. It just came out of the blue and I’m absolutely thrilled and very honoured.”