Rising standards left Kenny feeling out of her ‘comfort zone’ on return to track

LAURA KENNY is Great Britain’s most successful female Olympian, but she admits she had to overcome a confidence crisis upon her return to major competition after giving birth.

The 26-year-old four-time gold medallist will have 18-month-old son Albie trackside when she competes alongside husband Jason at the World Track Cycling Championships in Poland next week.

Kenny endured a mixed return at the European Championships in Glasgow last year and admitted she took some time to adjust to the fact that she still belonged in elite company.

Kenny said: “The standard moves on all the time and when I left the sport after Rio it continued to grow and move on.

“It meant I basically had to re-learn the whole thing. When I returned at the World Cup in Canada I felt a little bit out of my comfort zone with everything happening at full speed ahead.

“But it just takes a few events to get used to it. I was pretty average in Glasgow and that was a learning curve and a wake-up call. I’ve relearned and moved on and I feel much stronger going to Poland.”

Kenny will compete in the team pursuit and the omnium as she continues to build towards next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.

She said: “It will be just before Albie’s third birthday so, assuming I’m selected, he will be at the stage where he is starting to understand a little bit about what mummy is doing when she goes to work.”