‘Lack of track time will hurt medal bid’
KENNY ADMITS INABILITY TO RACE WILL HINDER HER OLYMPIC HOPES
LAURA Kenny admits a lack of race time ahead of this summer’s rescheduled Olympics could hinder her chances of adding to her quartet of gold medals.
While bidding to defend the team pursuit and omnium titles she claimed at London 2012 and in Rio four years later, the 28-year-old will be gunning for glory in the madison in Tokyo as part of a treble.
Success in all three events could see Kenny overtake Chris Hoy and husband Jason as Great Britain’s most decorated Olympian but having endured a tough 2020 – in which she broke her shoulder and suffered a nasty eye injury – she believes she is yet to hit her best form.
The pandemic has halted many of GB’s pre-Olympic plans, and Kenny is unsure whether other nations will benefit from looser restrictions when the action finally gets underway in Tokyo.
“Races are being canned all over the place and there’s a question mark over the Nations Cup in Wales at the end of April now,” said Kenny, who is working with Purplebricks to encourage the nation to get behind Team GB on their journey to Tokyo.
“We’re going to Belgium a week before that, and that could well be the only race we’ve got before the Olympics. I know some countries are still racing – Belarus have been allowed to run their National Championships when we could not, for example. There are definitely different rules for different countries, and it’s hard to say what impact that’s going to have.
“Having had a year out to have a child I was always playing catch up anyway, and then I was injured last year. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
While unable to compete internationally, Kenny believes the strength in depth among the GB squad has provided her and her team-mates with the competitive environment needed to prepare for Japan.
“We had a camp in Manchester which involved everyone on the GB programme, so the juniors, U23s and seniors were all there,” said Kenny, who also counts seven World Championships golds among her list of achievements. We ran loads of different races, and we’re lucky we’re able to do that because we have so many riders in our setup. While other countries may be able to travel more, they might not have that option.”
● Laura Kenny, is working with Purplebricks to encourage the nation to get behind Team GB on their journey to Tokyo, with the same amazing home support as London 2012. Visit @PurplebricksUK. To enter the draw to receive one of 2,020 limited edition prints, visit page. purplebricks.co.uk/teamgb_homesupport.
Having had a year out to have a child I was always playing catch up anyway
Laura Kenny