Dame Laura Kenny pulls OUT of the European Championships in Munich this week as she seeks a break from cycling after winning Commonwealth Games gold
- Dame Laura Kenny took gold in the scratch race at the Commonwealth Games
- Kenny said she needed time to 'step back and reset again' following her victory
- The 30-year-old has now pulled out of this week's European Championships
- It throws her participation in October's World Championships at risk
Dame Laura Kenny has pulled out of this week’s European Championships as she seeks a break from cycling.
The five-time Olympic champion had initially been due to compete at the event in Munich, which starts on Thursday.
But after winning Commonwealth Games gold last Monday, Kenny said she may rethink her plans to take time out following her traumatic year – a decision that was confirmed on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old’s absence at the Europeans means she may also now miss October’s World Championships, with the Paris Olympics less than two years away.
Kenny suffered a miscarriage last November and then an ectopic pregnancy in January, before returning to cycling in April.
She competed for England in three events in Birmingham, winning bronze in the women’s team pursuit, finishing a disappointing 13th in the points race, before ending with gold in the scratch race.
Dame Laura Kenny has pulled out of this week's European Championships in Munich
It comes after she secured a gold medal in the scratch race at the Commonwealth Games
After that win, Kenny said she needed to ‘step back again and reset’, before also throwing her participation in Paris into doubt as she revealed she would take ‘time to decide what I want going forward’.
Katie Archibald, who won gold with Kenny in the madison at last summer’s Olympics in Tokyo, skipped the Commonwealth Games and will also miss the Europeans. She is still recovering from a series of injuries after being hit by a car at the end of May.
Matt Walls and Joe Truman, who both suffered horrific crashes at Birmingham 2022, are not in the squad. Tom Pidcock, fresh from winning a stage at the Tour de France, will ride in the mountain bike race.
Dame Laura Kenny suffered a miscarriage in November and then an ectopic pregnancy in January, before returning to cycling ahead of the Commonwealth Games back in April
The move puts Kenny's (right) participation at October's World Championships at risk
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