Laura Kenny: Briton finishes 12th in World Track Championships omnium after crash
- Published
Track Cycling World Championships: Laura Kenny crashes in women's omnium
UCI Track Cycling World Championships |
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Venue: Berlin Velodrome, Germany. Dates: 26 February-1 March. |
Coverage: Live on BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app and through Connected TVs. |
Britain's Laura Kenny finished 12th in the omnium after an early crash ruined her chances of a medal at the Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin.
Kenny, a two-time Olympic and world omnium champion, was involved in a five-rider crash in the opening scratch race and required stitches to her right eye.
She was already riding with a broken shoulder sustained in January.
"It just wasn't my day," Kenny told BBC Sport.
"When I came down I knew my shoulder was OK and that was all I cared about and then the blood gushed out of my face and I thought 'now what have I done?!'
"But I am glad I carried on. I need to be in races, otherwise in six months time I will feel nervous."
Kenny returned to competition in February 2018, six months after the birth of her son Albie and went to her first training camp without him earlier this year.
"I have not sacrificed all this time from Albie for no reason," Kenny added.
"I go away so much, spend so much time away from him and I want him to have this experience in Tokyo. Call it blind faith, but I still think I can win there."
British Cycling confirmed Kenny was safe to continue in the omnium after a concussion check in the wake of a crash in the first discipline which saw Mexico's Lizbeth Salazar carried off the track on a stretcher.
Netherlands' Kirsten Wild, the defending world champion in the event, was relegated for causing the crash after finishing the 7.5km scratch race second, and placed seventh overall in the omnium.
Japan's Yumi Kajihara won gold for her maiden world title.
'Blood started gushing from my face but I wasn't going to give up' - Kenny on omnium crash
Laura Kenny and Lizbeth Salazar were both taken out of the race by the crash
Kenny walked off the track after the crash
Kenny in discussion with British Cycling performance director Stephen Park as she warms down
Four-time Olympic champion Kenny broke her shoulder riding the tempo race of the omnium at the World Cup in Milton, Canada, on 26 January.
The 27-year-old opted against surgery in order to continue her Tokyo 2020 preparations at the World Championships.
She hopes to ride in three events at the Olympics - the omnium, team pursuit and the madison.
Kenny won women's team pursuit silver on Thursday after riding in the first round. She had previously said she would not ride the discipline because of her injury.
Stewart 12th in points race
Stewart (right) could not stay with Corbin Strong (left) in the points race
Britain's only other competitor on Friday, Mark Stewart, finished 12th in a points race won by New Zealand's Corbin Strong.
Stewart, who is the reigning Commonwealth Games points race champion and won world bronze in the event in 2018, won the second sprint. The points race does not form part of the Olympic track cycling programme.
Victory for Strong - who lapped the rest of the field - came just a day after the 19-year-old also won team pursuit silver.
"I was really focused for today and really wanted it after team pursuit," he told BBC Sport. "To do it in my second year in elite is really special."