Knight sticks at it to gain Tokyo chance

CYCLING: The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics has given Josie Knight hope of being on the plane to Japan next summer, but two years ago the 23-yearold was wondering if her cycling career was over.

Knight joined Great Britain’s podium programme before this year’s UCI Track World Championships in Berlin, getting the call when Laura Kenny broke her shoulder in January, and has now graduated to the elite group full time.

But rewind to 2018 and what Knight calls a “strange, crazy journey” – one that began in the green, white and orange of Ireland – almost ended.

“I accidentally started riding for Ireland,” said Knight. “It sounds really stupid, but ... at the time I wasn’t really thinking, ‘Right, that’s me declaring for Ireland’. I just wanted to go to the event!”

Knight was born near Aylesbury but her family moved to Dingle, Co Kerry, when she was 18 months old. She took up racing on an Irish licence and soon found herself a fullyfledged member of Team Ireland, winning European individual pursuit silver as a junior, claiming national titles, and competing at the 2015 and 2016 World Championships.

But Knight never considered herself Irish, and as retirements broke up the team pursuit squad after the Rio Olympic cycle, she was left at a crossroads.

She wrote to the UCI to change her affiliation, knowing there was no road back if things did not work out.

Knight had been rejected by British Cycling as a junior but approached them again. Numerous hurdles had to be overcome but she finally got her wish when smashing the required qualifying time at last year’s Nationals, opening the door to make a name for herself in Tokyo.

“It’s really exciting but I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” she said. “I just want to see how far I can go.”