Linford Christie feels Usain Bolt's quiet year offers his rivals hope that they can catch him before and during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Jamaican showman Bolt still set a new indoor 100 metres world best time of 9.98 seconds in Warsaw in August and picked up a 4x100m relay gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after having surgery on a hamstring injury in March.

While Christie accepts Bolt is the man to beat at next year's World Championships in Beijing, the 100m 1992 Olympic champion believes it could be a lot closer than many think as the 28-year-old settles back into the routine of serious competition.

"We're hoping that because he's had a year out, it's given a lot of guys who've done the Diamond League and everything else the confidence to push him," Christie said.

"I still think on times, the fact he's still the world record holder and better than everyone else you've got to look at him and think he's the talent.

"But you never know what may happen and I think a lot of people will have something else to say.

"If someone else comes in and puts on a good time it will make him realise that he's got to pull his socks up."

Bolt looked as if he had never been away from the track in August as he wowed the Glasgow crowd to anchor Jamaica's relay success at the Commonwealth Games.

"It's amazing you can be the star of the show and just run the relay," Christie said.

"But it's hard for him because he runs 9.8 and everyone is disappointed.

"He ran one or two races but it wasn't an important year for him, Justin Gatlin was the top man and it's always a big battle between Jamaica and America for the titles now."

Gatlin enjoyed some success against Bolt in 2013 and this year the 32-year-old ran the fastest 100m and 200m by a main in his thirties.

"At the moment if you're judging on form and the way he's running it seems like there's no-one to beat Bolt," Christie said at the DohaGOALS 2014 Forum in Qatar.

"But every year's a different year and you've got to take into consideration injuries and everything else that can happen.

"One year you'll do the training and you think it's gone great and then you do exactly the same the next year and it doesn't go that well."

Christie said he is also expecting a strong British challenge in Beijing next August with European champions James Dasaolu (100m) and Adam Gemili (200m) leading a talented crop of young British sprinters.

"(This year) went really well for the Brits and the Europeans and Commonwealths gave the confidence for the young people to go to the Worlds or the Olympics and make their marks," Christie said.

"It gave them that vital experience which they're going to need next year for the World Championships and then at the Olympics in Rio in 2016.

"These boys run half as much as we used to but they've got to run a lot more races and, when they do, run them with some fast people."