Hugh William Porter MBE (born 27 January 1940)[2][3] is one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, winning four world titles in the individual pursuit[4] - more than any other rider[1] - as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1966.

His father, Joe, was a cyclist and at 10, Hugh was taken to the Halesowen Velodrome to watch British sprint world champion Reg Harris.

[5] In his earlier working life outside professional cycling commitments he was employed as a draughtsman at Chubb Locks in Willenhall.

He also finished second that year in the season-long Star Trophy points competition assessed by results in set races through a season, and 17th in his first ride in the Tour of Britain.

Porter then travelled to the Rocourt velodrome, in Belgium, for the 1963 world championship, where he reached the semi-final, to be pipped by 0.18 seconds by Belgian Jean Walschaerts for a place in the final.

However, while Porter qualified fifth fastest in Tokyo, he was suffering from a cold and was eliminated at the quarter-final stage, and went home without a medal,[3] but he did meet his future wife, fellow Olympian and swimmer Anita Lonsbrough whom he married in Huddersfield on 17 June 1965.

Porter began with 12 successive road race victories, and won a pursuit match in the Good Friday meeting at Herne Hill.

Porter qualified for the final, but, unsettled by a puncture to his opponent, Tiemen Groen, that forced a re-run, he was beaten by two seconds.

Nonetheless, his silver medal led to contracts from track promoters, including an invitation to ride the London six-day race – his first.

However, he recovered and spent much of the winter track-racing in Belgium, finishing the Antwerp six-day before returning to England for the start of the 1968 road season.

However, an injury returned and he abandoned on the third stage – a retirement that allowed him to concentrate on the world championship in Rome in late August.

In the final, Porter faced Ole Ritter, later holder of the outdoor hour record, of Denmark and beat him by eight seconds to win his first world title, an achievement that merited the Bidlake Memorial Prize for 1968.

In 1973 Porter took his fourth world title in San Sebastian, qualifying fastest and catching Martín Rodríguez in the quarter-finals (gaining revenge for the 1965 Amateur World Championships, also in San Sebastian, where Porter had also qualified fastest but had been knocked out by Rodríguez in the next round) before beating Mogens Frey in the semis and defeating René Pijnen by ten seconds in the final after trailing him with seven laps remaining.

[12] Porter was presented with an award for Outstanding Contribution to Cycling at the World Track Championships in Manchester in March 2008.