Ever wondered how Olympic Champion Laura Kenny juggles her demanding training routine with being a mum to son Albie?
Q: What’s been your “lifetime” highlight?
A: I obviously love cycling and I always say it’s more than just a job because we give our lives to it. But my highlight was obviously having our son Albie.
Q: How demanding is your training/cycling routine?
A: We do a mixture of gym, road and track throughout the week, which ranges from about 15-20 hours a week.
Q: How do you juggle that with motherhood?
A: We are very lucky that our parents are our babysitters. We have a really good routine so everyone knows when they are needed. It’s a bit of a balancing act but it works.
Q: Does having your own child now, motivate you in a different way?
A: Yes. I don’t want to get on my bike and be away from Albie for nothing, so I make all training sessions count. I want Albie to have some amazing experiences like I have had from cycling.
Q: Is Albie showing any signs of being interested in what you do? Do you think you will encourage him to consider sport/cycling?
A: No, he doesn’t understand at all at the minute. We always say “mummy is off to work now” so he doesn’t think I’m just leaving. We aren’t bothered if Albie is into cycling or not. I feel sorry for him that people ask this already. I don’t want him to feel any pressure to cycle just because his parents do. He will be bought up in a very active lifestyle and that is what’s important to me. I was very active as a child and I want that for Albie too.
Q: What advice would you give to people juggling a career that demands time with motherhood?
A: Never get pressured into doing something you don’t want to. If you don’t want to leave your baby yet, then don’t. I always planned to come back. I always thought it would be possible, so if you do too then go with it. It was hard initially to leave him, but I soon got into a good routine and he’s used to it now.
Q: What would you do if you weren’t doing this?
A: I have absolutely no idea. I never planned to do anything else.
Q: After attending last year’s HSBC UK Lets Ride Manchester, how important do you think the HSBC UK programmes are for helping people in the UK to start cycling?
A: These kinds of events are a great way of giving families the opportunity to ride their local streets traffic-free for a day and they can enjoy the benefits of riding a bike at any age or ability. There’s also loads of fun entertainment for kids like free HSBC UK Go-Ride sessions and HSBC UK Ready Set Ride sessions to help them with their skills and confidence on a bike.
Q: What is your advice to women wanting to get back on a bike?
A: I think a lot of women worry about getting on a bike and don’t have the confidence but it’s just a case of giving it a go and building-up your confidence bit by bit. HSBC UK Breeze is great for that because the rides they put on are for women only, so you can go along and give it a go even if you haven’t been on a bike for years.
Q: What do you want to achieve next?
A: More Olympic medals?
Keep up to date with Laura and the rest of the Great Britain Cycling Team here.
