Triple Olympic gold medal hero Ed Clancy is preparing for his first holiday in eight years.

The Team GB cycling ace, Yorkshire’s most successful Olympian ever, is back home in Holmbridge – but not for long.

Ed, 31, is on a whirlwind tour of sponsors, PR meetings and media interviews after his triumph in the team pursuit at the Rio games.

On Saturday Ed and partner Natalie Smith, 25, took time out to be guests at Huddersfield Town ’s home game against Wolves.

Team GB gold medal cyclist Ed Clancy poses during half time at the Sky Bet Championship match at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

Ed sat alongside Town chief executive Julian Winter in the directors’ box, as a near 20,000 crowd saw Town clinch a 1-0 victory to stay top of the Championship.

Barnsley-born Ed, who grew up in Denby Dale and Holmfirth , told the Examiner he was delighted to be back in Yorkshire and added: “It’s great to be home.

“Last year I probably spent 200 days away from home so it’s nice to be back.

“I love the hills around here and the mountain biking, you can go on a six-hour ride and not see a main road. You can be in the Peak District or North Yorkshire in no time. It still feels like home.”

Ed had moved to Manchester where he trains but bought a house in Holmbridge three-and-a-half years ago, living there with Natalie and ginger cat Boris.

After a hectic few days since he returned from Brazil, Ed is preparing to wind down and go on holiday to Lake Como in Italy.

“It’s been brilliant and the reaction from everybody has been fantastic and I want to celebrate and live a little bit now,” he said.

“I haven’t had a holiday in eight years, not since the Olympics in Beijing. I’ve had to live like a monk to get to where we are. It’s been a tough four years.”

Olympic cycling gold medalist Ed Clancy with partner Natalie Smith at the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield after Huddersfield Town's game against Wolves.

Ed faced a race against time to recover from a serious back injury to take his place alongside boyhood hero Sir Bradley Wiggins in the team pursuit.

He beat the odds to claim his third gold after medals in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

He said his third gold was the most special and vowed round off his career with another at the Toyko Olympics in four years’ time.

“I am not getting any younger and I will be 35 in Tokyo and that will be my last race,” he said. “I would like to go out in style.”

Ed admitted he’d never been a great football fan and growing up it had always been cycling for him.

“I kicked a ball around as a kid but I can’t pretend to be an avid football fan,” he said. “I enjoyed the Town game and the atmosphere. In the velodrome we only get 6,000 people but here there were 20,000. It’s great to see Town top of the league.”