Kerby bows out with a golden handshake
New Zealand cyclist Jordan Kerby has announced his retirement from the sport, weeks after winning gold in the men’s team pursuit at the Commonwealth Games.
The 30-year-old rider was part of the quartet featuring Aaron Gate, Campbell Stewart and Tom Sexton who beat hosts England in recordbreaking time in the final at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark to win New Zealand’s first gold in the event since 1990.
Brisbane-born Kerby had previously represented Australia, winning gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the same event, only to be discarded by the Australian setup two years out from the Tokyo Olympics.
Kerby was subsequently welcomed into the New Zealand environment (he qualified through his Kiwi mother) after reaching out to Cycling New Zealand high performance director Martin Barras about making the switch.
He went on to represent his adopted nation in Tokyo, but crashed out in the bronze medal race with Australia after team-mate Gate clipped his back wheel and crashed into the boards.
After gaining redemption in London and setting a new Commonwealth Games record,
Kerby felt the time was right to pedal away.
‘‘It has been so hard to get myself out of bed every day, and to smash myself on the road and on the track to prepare for the London campaign,’’ Kerby said after confirming his retirement.
‘‘The day after that crash in Tokyo we made a pledge to go again. For me it was this campaign and I can’t go any further. We know have so much depth within the squad and that’s evident with how well Tom Sexton has stepped up to fill the wheel one position in London.’’
Kerby is still based in Queensland and delayed his wedding for a year to prepare in Cambridge for the Tokyo Olympics with the rest of the team.
The closed borders during the Covid-19 pandemic prevented him from crossing the Tasman to see his then-fiancee and now wife, who supported his decision to give it one more crack at the Commonwealth Games.
‘‘But I know it’s time. Probably only athletes in high performance sport know what it takes to be competitive in an Olympic sport. I knew my time was up.’’
Kerby has already planned his next career move, coaching young riders in his native Queensland. He said he hoped to be remembered as a ‘‘proud Kiwi’’ who ‘‘gave it everything I had’’.