Sir Chris Hoy claimed his 10th Track Cycling World Championships title in Copenhagen on Thursday.

A trademark power surge saw Hoy claim the men's keirin victory at the Ballerup Super Arena venue where the four-time Olympic champion won his first world champion's rainbow jersey in 2002 and suffered a career-threatening injury on Valentine's Day in 2009.

It was the 34-year-old's third men's keirin title in four years.

However, afterwards Hoy, who had earlier been forced to the floor at the start of his first-round heat, revealed he expected his opponents to become more physical in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics.

"If you keep on winning, they're going to look for ways to try and beat you," said the Scot.

"I think people have found that if they let me get to the front, it's hard to get past me, so they're trying to get ahead of me, stall my speed and leave it as late as possible.

"That's when accidents happen, like at the World Cup last year.

"I believe if I take control of the race, if I dictate what happens, then I've got more of a chance of winning and that's what I try and do."

The tactic worked to perfection as Hoy won Great Britain's first gold of the championships and second medal of the day after the women's team pursuit squad took silver.

The men's keirin final required a restart after Malaysia's Awang Azizulhasni was pushed off the track in the first attempt.

But at the second time of asking Hoy reclaimed the rainbow jersey from Maximilian Levy of Germany, who finished third.

Levy was positioned behind the derny motor pacer and before it left the track, Hoy allowed a gap to build up between himself and the German.

Awang was on the Scot's tail but, with one and a half laps to go, Hoy accelerated away from his rivals and won by half a wheel length from the Malaysian, with Levy taking bronze.

Hoy is competing in his first global competition since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where he won three gold medals, after a hip problem sustained at the venue for this year's event ruled him out of the 2009 World Championships in Poland.

The Scot claimed men's team sprint bronze alongside Jason Kenny and Ross Edgar on Friday after a broken pedal prior to the qualification ride hit his hopes.

And his bid for a 10th world champion's rainbow jersey was almost disrupted in the heats when Malaysia's Josiah Ng Onn Lam cut across him abruptly.

"I certainly didn't enjoy being dumped on my backside in the first round, that was out of order,'' said Hoy.

"It did (make me angry), but that's another emotion you try and keep in check - you don't want to let the red mist descend and lose the plot, you've got to stay controlled and focused.

"I was annoyed at lying on my back only a couple of seconds after the start, but thankfully I wasn't hurt and got back on the bike.''

Hoy anticipates more rough and tumble in the next two years as he rivals try to work out a way of beating him.

"All the time people will be studying the videos, they'll be looking at how I ride and so far so good, but I don't expect it to be an easy path to London,'' he said.

"It's going to be tough and I'm going to have to improve if I want to be champion there again.''

As for the landmark of 10 world titles - three more than the next best Briton, Beryl Burton - Hoy said: "It's fantastic.

"I think it makes it more special to be back here again where I won my first world title eight years ago.

"I would never have predicted then that I'd be back here in eight years' time, let alone to win a 10th title, so I'm delighted.''

Earlier, Great Britain's women's pursuit team failed to defend their title, being forced to settle for silver.

Australia, represented by Ashlee Ankudinoff, Sarah Kent and Josephine Tomic, proved too good for the British trio of Jo Rowsell, Wendy Houvenaghel and Lizzie Armitstead in the gold-medal race, winning the 3km race in 3mins 21.748secs.

New Zealand added another blow to the British as they took their world record in the bronze-medal race.

Meanwhile, Victoria Pendleton and Jessica Varnish finished fourth in the women's team sprint.

In a discipline incorporated into the revised Olympic programme, Pendleton won silver alongside her fellow 2008 world champion Shanaze Reade 12 months ago.

But the BMX ace was absent in Copenhagen and Pendleton was partnered by 19-year-old Varnish for the two woman, two-lap event.

The British duo were fourth fastest in qualifying, but were beaten by Lithuania in the race for bronze, clocking 33.593 seconds to Gintare Gaivenyte and Simona Krupeckaite's 33.109secs.

Defending champions Anna Meares and Kaarle McCulloch beat China in the final, winning Australia's third gold of the championships in a new world record of 32.923secs.

In other events, defending champion Taylor Phinney of the United States won the men's individual pursuit, while Denmark's Alex Rasmussen won the host nation's first title with victory in the men's scratch race.