Jason Kenny: I lost my desire but now I’ve switched on again

Triple gold medalist Jason Kenny has rediscovered his motivation after post-Olympic slump. Matt Majendie reports from Minsk
P59 Jason Kenny

Jason Kenny may have three Olympic golds but he has never actually won a world title race on the track. The record books state he is the 2011 sprint world champion but that rainbow jersey was only handed out a year after Gregory Bauge was stripped of the title following a backdated suspension for missed doping tests.

And, as such, he is determined to make amends when the Track Cycling World Championships get under way in Minsk tomorrow.

Kenny, whose own competition begins on Thursday and will compete on four of the five days in the team and individual sprints as well as the keirin, said: “I’d love to get a title on the track. It’s really important to us as riders. I’ve obviously done it at the Olympics but I need to make sure I’m getting used to the top step of the podium.”

His quest will made marginally easier by the absence of last year’s sprint champion Bauge, who opted to miss the event, as well as keirin world champion Sir Chris Hoy.

And without Hoy in the British Cycling set-up in Belarus, Kenny finds himself as one of the team’s elder statesman, remarkable considering he is just 24.

The role does not come easily to Kenny who, unlike Sir Chris, is not a natural public speaker. For his part, Kenny admits that life post-Hoy, who may or may not return to the track at the highest level, has taken some getting used to.

“It’s most strange in the hotel situation as we always shared a room at the big events,” Kenny said. “It sounds odd but that’s the big difference. Now I share with Philip Hindes but the good thing is that everyone gets along with each other, as far as I know. I don’t know of anyone who’s asked specifically not to share with me!”

At Olympic level, Kenny is already halfway to Hoy’s record of six track golds and, with both of the next two Games very realistic targets, there is every chance the most unassuming of athletes could become Britain’s most successful ever Olympian.

He has a remarkable ability to downplay things with his Bolton drawl; all but his London experiences where he was part of an elite group of five British athletes to win double gold, the others being his girlfriend Laura Trott, Hoy, Mo Farah and Charlotte Dujardin.

“They were the happiest days of my life,” he said. “Everything from last year’s worlds onwards went really well and I felt the momentum really building. I even enjoyed the build-up and didn’t feel much pressure. But I never think about the summer now. You have to look forward to the next event.”

Initially, that was easier said than done for Kenny, who struggled for motivation. After a month off, during which he and Trott had a holiday in Dubai, he found he did not have his previous burning desire.

“For a while, I couldn’t face it,” he said. “It was about a month like that but then, I don’t know what happened, it was like someone flicked a switch and all I could think about was the bike.

“The motivation issue is understandable as London 2012 had been on the horizon for as long as my career. It was always going to be difficult to pick up from there.”

There have been blips since that spark of motivation — a nasty crash in Glasgow that left him with damaged ribs and illness that cost him another week’s training. As a result, he is a little off his peak.

“The time has been so condensed that any setback’s a bit more costly,” he said. “So that’s tough but I don’t think I’m that far off and there’s no point panicking. You just have to go there with whatever you’ve got, and it seems like it’s coming together.”

Kenny’s main focus is the team sprint with Hindes and Kian Emadi. “Phil is showing the odd signs of greatness in man one in the team sprint and Kian might have edged Chris for man three even if he was here,” he said.

The comment is not a barb at his fellow Olympian merely an observation of the progress of the 20-year-old.

Four days after the World Championships, Kenny will receive an OBE for his Olympic achievements, adding to the MBE in 2009. That, along with his Olympic golds, look destined to be sent to his mum’s house. The hope and expectation is that medals in Belarus will precede the OBE.

Minsk action - The track cycling world championships

Tomorrow

Men’s team pursuit (Ed Clancy, Steven Burke)

Women’s team sprint (Becky James, Vicky Williamson)

Thursday

Women’s team pursuit

(Laura Trott, Dani King, Elinor Barker)

Men’s team sprint (Jason Kenny, Philip Hindes, Kian Emadi)

Friday

Men’s keirin (Kenny)

Men’s omnium, day one (Jon Dibben)

Women’s sprint (James, Williamson)

Saturday

Men’s omnium, day two

Women’s omnium, day one (Trott)

Men’s sprint (Kenny)

Women’s sprint finals

Sunday

Women’s omnium, day two

Men’s sprint finals

Women’s keirin (James, Williamson)

Live on BBC2

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