![Track Cycling - Commonwealth Games: Day 4 Track Cycling - Commonwealth Games: Day 4](https://resources.cwg-qbr.pulselive.com/photo-resources/qbr-commonwealth-games/photo/2022/08/01/70865ee8-ed9d-401e-bd64-794c6dbaa20b/775827556_1412253762_Track_Cycling___Commonwealth_.jpg?width=830)
Laura Kenny delivers Commonwealth gold in scratch race for England
A late burst of speed saw Kenny overhaul Great Britain team-mate Neah Evans and then hold off New Zealand’s Michaela Drummond and Canada’s Maggie Coles-Lyster.
Dame Laura Kenny delivered Commonwealth gold for England in Monday’s scratch race and then revealed she had gone to bed on Sunday wondering if it would be her last competitive ride.
The five-time Olympic champion has endured a traumatic period since the Tokyo Games last summer, suffering a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy.
She has spoken of cycling being her safety blanket, but the pressures of competition have been a burden in recent months and she was disappointed with her form over the weekend.
“Yesterday I thought it was going to be my last bike race,” Kenny said. “Everything about it I just didn’t enjoy. Even before the start, I didn’t know if I could do it.
“(But) I came in this morning in a completely different mindset, thinking: ‘Of course you can do it.’ I told myself in the toilet: ‘You need to race as Laura Trott,’ that old bike rider who didn’t think about anything else other than crossing that finish line first.
“When I changed my mindset, I just felt completely different.”
Roared on by a London crowd that achieved decibel levels reminiscent of the 2012 Olympics, Kenny certainly raced like Trott of old, saving a burst of speed for the final laps to take victory ahead of New Zealand’s Michaela Drummond and Canada’s Maggie Coles-Lyster. The emotions then poured out.
“I watched Adam Peaty and the way he reflected on his build-up, he said he hasn’t really felt the spark in training and competition for the past two years, and that feels very much like me,” said Kenny, who also pointed to the exit of coach Monica Greenwood and an injury to Madison partner Katie Archibald.
“You know when you get so much bad news that you feel a bit lost. I would say since everything that’s happened to me personally, and then Monica’s stepped away, I’ve felt lost.
“Obviously everything that’s happened to Katie, when Katie said to me she doesn’t think she can do the Commies and then do the Euros, I felt like somebody had ripped my right arm off…I just felt like I had nothing.”
Australia's Matthew Glaetzer successfully defended his Commonwealth 1000m Time Trial title.
The 29-year-old secured his second gold of Birmingham 2022 - after victory in the Team Sprint - as he crossed the line in a time of 59.505 seconds.
Glaetzer, who had won six Commonwealth medals in total before this event, beat compatriot Thomas Cornish by 0.531secs, with Trinidadian Nicholas Paul completing the podium after he won gold in the men's keirin on Saturday.
New Zealand's Ellesse Andrews claimed her fourth medal of Birmingham 2022 with gold in the women's keirin ahead of England's silver medallist Sophie Capewell and Kelsey Mitchell of New Zealand, who claimed bronze.
After winning her third gold - as well as a silver medal here - and sitting top of the individual medal table for this summer's Games, she admitted is was "pretty special".
She added: "It's pretty special and surreal – something you can only believe once it's actually happened.
I have loved all of my wins for different reasons, but it has been really special to watch all of my team-mates do so well
"I left space behind and just watched all of my opponents so I could react quickly to them. I knew I had fast girls behind me, waiting to attack, so I ended up making the attack myself."
The 22-year-old added: “I have loved all of my wins for different reasons, but it has been really special to watch all of my team-mates do so well and break records and stand on the podium."
Aaron Gate secured another gold for New Zealand with victory in the men's 40km points race to also clinch his third gold in Birmingham.
Gate added to Friday's team pursuit and Saturday's individual pursuit successes to finish ahead of compatriot Campbell Stewart - who was runner-up in 2018 - and third-placed Oli Wood of England.