Kenny comes home
OLYMPIC HERO BACK FOR SIX DAY
GREAT Britain’s most successful female Olympian, Laura Kenny, is enjoying racing more than ever while she prepares for Tokyo 2020.
Despite pulling out of last week’s Track Cycling World Championships in Poland due to illness, the four-time Olympic champion is back fighting fit and raring to go.
“It was frustrating but I’ve had a few days off now and feel a lot more like myself,” she told M.E.N. Sport.
“It would have been my first World Championships omnium since the Olympic games so I really wanted to ride but I think pulling out was the right decision.”
The GB cyclist, wife of fellow Olympian Jason Kenny, gave birth to her son Albie in 2017 and says that she now enjoys cycling more than ever.
“Initially returning to cycling was really hard, it was a big adjustment getting used to not having much sleep and travelling around the world with a little one but honestly, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she said.
“I get so much more enjoyment out of it now than I ever have because I can travel around with family and have Albie with me wherever I go. It’s just made me a lot more relaxed and laid back,” added the 26-year-old.
Kenny is back in action for the Six Day Cycling Series which is being held at the National Cycling Centre, Manchester from March 22-24.
The Six Day series combines track cycling with a party atmosphere, this year’s locations have included Berlin and Hong Kong, with the final set for Brisbane in April, although this is the first time it has been to Manchester.
“I’m excited about the atmosphere because it’s so different to any other race. At the World Cup, they play music in the background but it’s not dark and it’s not when we’re racing so I’m really excited about having that experience,” Kenny said.
It will be Kenny’s debut in the Six Day series as she had to pull out of the event in 2017 in Berlin due to a hamstring injury.
She continued: “I am really excited, the event started when I was pregnant so I got to watch lots of them on the television. I trained really hard for the World Championships but had such a disappointing week last week, it would be nice to go out and ride well and for that form to actually show.”
The endurance track cyclist is also looking forward to competing in the Manchester Velodrome, known as the ‘medal factory,’ which is around 40 minutes’ drive from the Knutsford home she shares with Jason.
“Competing in Manchester will be fantastic, my first ever World Cup was in Manchester back in 2010 and the atmosphere was just incredible, Manchester is home for me now,” Kenny said.
The seven-time World Champion also has Tokyo 2020 in her sights as she prepares for what will be her third Olympic games.
“It’s weird that it will be my third time, I don’t feel like I’ve been around in the cycling world long enough to be going to a third one.
“Every Olympics is completely different so I’m looking forward to experiencing it again,” she said.
“I just want to go out and do my best but as an athlete you obviously want to win the events that you ride, you want to peak for that one event every four years,” Kenny continued.
The London-born cyclist is pleased with the preparation that herself and her team-mates have managed so far in the year leading up to the games.
She said: “We did our best qualifying time since the Olympics at the World Championships so that was a good gauge as to where we are at, but you don’t really know until you get there as that’s when the package is complete, when all your training is finished.”
However, Kenny’s focus remains on her upcoming test in the Six Day series, when asked about her expectations for the event, the athlete joked: “To be honest, I have no idea!
“The progress that we’ve shown over the last year or so shows that we can continue to race at a really high standard so I hope that these coming weeks will be the same.”