‘I should have been in Tokyo right now’
Laura Kenny, the most successful female track cyclist in Olympic history, tells Grazia how she won’t let Covid ruin her plans for another gold medal
at this moment, I should have been with the rest of Team GB in Tokyo, where the 2020 Olympics were due to take place, building towards the final run-up, which is filled with so much stress and intensity. I never expected the games to be postponed; only the two world wars have ever completely stopped them in the past. So it was a real shock when I heard back in March that the Olympics had been cancelled due to the pandemic. I was at home at the time with a broken shoulder and broken arm and, up until that moment, I’d been worried that my injuries meant I’d need to be replaced in one of the events
I was so desperate to compete in. I didn’t know whether I was ready for that – so, if I’m being brutally honest, I took the postponement as something of a blessing.
I’ve won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the women’s team pursuit and omnium, so before all of this happened
I was desperate to be selected for both of those races. But, after two nasty falls in January and February left me with my broken bones, that was looking doubtful. I thought, ‘I haven’t sacrificed all this time not being with Albie – my son, who’s nearly three – for no reason.’ I wanted to compete and do well for him. My husband Jason, a six-time Olympic gold-medal-winning cyclist, takes the view that it’s another year and he’ll simply be a year older. But in my mind, another year could mean better and faster.
While the circumstances of coronavirus have been horrendous, and so many families have lost loved ones, for us as a family this lockdown has meant precious time that we just never would have had. If we were going to the Olympics, we probably wouldn’t be together as a family right now due to our intense training routines, so we’ve just really made the most of it. It’s been difficult not having childcare and having to play pass the parcel a bit with Albie, but apart from that we’ve had lots of fun around the house – and we’ve actually taught Albie to ride his bike!
Our training has taken a step back, too, which has made everything feel more relaxed. Normally, though, we’ve managed to juggle our individual routines with parenthood. Albie can have us up at any time; if it’s before 6am, Jase gets up with him and then I get a little bit of extra time in bed. Chances are, if he’s up that early, then he’s had a bad night that I’ve had to keep getting up for, because he settles quicker with me. Then we’ll all have breakfast together at 8am before I leave the house for training.
In the morning, I’ll typically do a two-to-four-hour basic road ride around where we live in Cheshire, then in the afternoon a session in our home gym or at the track in Manchester with my coach. I’m back home at 5pm… and then it’s back to being a full-on mum again.
I’m now looking forward to my next race in the European Championships in November. But, of course, even that is still up in the air because we don’t know when we’ll be able to travel. The one thing that will be weird, though, is competing without a crowd cheering me on, which is looking increasingly likely. I think for me, though, it will be one less thing to worry about, and I’m a real worrier. My family and friends probably won’t be there, and I always fret when we travel to new places as I don’t really like change and need to make sure I know exactly where my family are in the stand and that everyone’s OK before I race.
Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter what year the Olympics are in, how much it might need to be changed – or even if there are no crowds. Each of the Games you go to is such a privilege, so different and so special in its own way. The Olympics is still the Olympics – and I still plan to win gold. Laura and Jason have collaborated with Peloton on a new class collection, Ride to Gold. Available to all members and with a 30 day trial of the Peloton app; onepeloton.co.uk