British track star Jason Kenny announced his retirement from professional racing this morning and is set to become British Cycling's new men's sprint coach, after becoming Great Britain's most successful Olympian this summer in Tokyo.
"A massive part of me would love to continue and try to get to Paris and I'm a little bit sad in a way to not do that. The opportunity at British Cycling to be a coach might not be there in three years. I thought I'd take it now," Kenny said in an interview with BBC breakfast.
His last race was at the Tokyo Olympic games: "That keirin in Tokyo was special to me. It was an amazing race. If you could pick one to end on, that would always be. That did play a small part in it. That will be my last ever race, to finish on something so special on the last day of the Olympics."
Asked on why he decided to take the leap now, Kenny replied: "It's a combination of things. The opportunity came up at British Cycling to be a coach and it's something I wanted to do when I stopped anyway and it might not be there in three years so I thought for the sake of three years, I don't know if I can do three more years anyway, I thought I'd take the opportunity now."
Kenny has been one of the most successful riders in track history. Over the course of his career he's gathered nine Olympic medals, seven of them golden, and has also conquered nine gold medals at World Championships over the years.
"I'm really sad. It's all I've ever known is racing and training. I'm sad on that front but excited to start this new journey. It's a step into the unknown. I've worked with amazing coaches and I'm trying to unlock my memories of what I remember as a rider and what I liked," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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King Kenny? 👑 We just call him coach… Britain’s greatest Olympian starts his next chapter. Thank you, Sir Jason. 📰 Full story: bit.ly/3JRjPUq
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