aura Kenny is not used to standing out in the British cycling circles but had to make do with bronze on her return to an England jersey while her England team-mates took silver.
Kenny had been thinking about moving away from cycling altogether after a tough 2021, which saw her miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
But at the London circuit where she became a household name in 2012, she took the last podium spot in the women’s 4000m pursuit, though she still had two golds in the scratch and points races.
There was a silver of sorts for husband Jason, who retired in the wake of the Tokyo Olympics when he coached British trio Ryan Owens, Hamish Turnbull and Joe Truman to second place in the men’s team sprint, but in in reality they never came close to their Australian rivals in the final.
His wife, who has raced with Josie Knight, Maddie Leech and Sophie Lewis, has grown used to celebrating gold at the major championships, but she said she had huge expectations of bringing a medal back like her previous successes. goods.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much pressure in my life to win a bronze medal with a younger team,” she said. “I was a bag of nerves to help them win and get a taste of medals I’ve had in the past. To be quite honest I’ve been the weak link in the last two laps.”
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A week ago, Oliver Wood was in fetal position in bed with food poisoning, but climbed out of his sickbed to help the English quartet win silver in the men’s 4000m pursuit.
But Wood and teammates Dan Bigham, Charlie Tanfield and Ethan Vernon, who had only had one practice session together after Wood’s illness, were no match for the New Zealand quartet that dominated the ride for gold.
After the silver, Wood said: “If you came back to Friday, I was in the fetal position with the world’s worst abdominal pain. I would have said I wouldn’t be here, but I got through the week well.”
