Kenny taking on British sprint coach role head on
Sir Jason Kenny admitted he has felt like a “bull in a china shop” as he throws himself into his new job as British Cycling’s men’s sprint coach.
Britain’s most successful ever Olympian announced his retirement last month and swapped his role from team-mate to coach, bringing down the curtain on a career in which he claimed seven Olympic titles – the last of them at the Tokyo Games last summer.
With the new Nations Cup season starting in Glasgow in less than three weeks’ time – before a busy summer that includes the Commonwealth Games before the European and World Championships – Kenny has had little time to settle in, but the 34-year-old insisted that suited him just fine.
“It’s been good fun,” he said. “I’ve just gone diving in. I’m a bit of a bull in a china shop. It’s a steep learning curve but I’m working with some good people, starting to find my feet now and really enjoying it…
“We’ve just come back from a training camp in Mallorca. We’ve got Glasgow coming up…it’s hectic at the start of the year but it’s better just to rip the plaster off and get stuck in.”
There was an element of sadness to Kenny’s decision to retire. He had still been planning to race on until the Paris Olympics in 2024 but, unsure of his form, he put in an application for the coaching role knowing how rarely such opportunities come up, and could not turn it down once offered the job.
But a month on, there is no looking back for Kenny, who still loves to jump on his bike during track sessions but knows now his job has changed.