By Joseph Allieu
Dame Laura Kenny has said that she believes that this summer’s Commonwealth Games will usher in a changing of the guard for women’s endurance track cycling.
Dame 34-year-old retired from the Cycling sport in 2024 as Britain’s most decorated female Olympian, but has now taken up a new role as the President of Commonwealth Games England ahead of Glasgow 2026.
No longer in the saddle, she said instead she will be watching from the track side as England’s cyclists soar on the podium in Scotland.
With the likes of Scotland’s Katie Archibald having recently stepped away from the sport as well, Kenny is excited to see fresh faces step up in the summer.
She went on to say that she feels like this Commonwealth is a bit of a change of guard because a lot of people have stepped away, and then they’ve got a strong group of youngsters coming through, especially in women’s endurance, she said.
This, she said, is actually going to be the first time that they won’t see Katie Archibald compete, as she has been a huge part of the Scottish women’s endurance squad for years now.
Katie, she said, would have been someone that Team England would have been fighting for the medals against.
This time round, they’re going to see people like Josie Knight stepping up versus Wales’s Anna Morris, and she is assuming that will probably be the gold medal ride in the individual pursuit.
She went that it is almost going to be the old, in with the new, and observed that this could be the first time that they will sort of get a glimpse of what the Olympic team might look like, albeit split into three different nations.
The Commonwealth Games will be a family affair once more for Kenny this summer.
Having spent her career on the track alongside her husband, Sir Jason Kenny, the two will now hold different roles in Glasgow, with Jason part of the coaching staff within the Team England Cycling Team set up.
This will provide a great opportunity to let her two eldest children, Albie and Monty, finally watch their parents at work.
And as one handover takes place in the velodrome this summer, the Team England President was thrilled to witness another between the Commonwealth nations.
“The King’s Baton Relay is another handover in essence as it travels from place to place,” said Kenny. “The special thing this year is the fact that Team England has made it almost like a legends piece.
“We’ve got old and new coming together, and it just highlights the journey of the Commonwealth Games as it travels up to Glasgow.
“The idea of having people come in and just talk about their Commonwealth Games experience or their excitement around the Commonwealth Games is just a brilliant idea.”
