Laura Kenny admits to period of adaptation after return to racing

Laura Kenny admitted she has been surprised by how long it took to feel comfortable racing at the top level again.

The four-time Olympic champion has enjoyed a string of successes since returning in February following a year out for the birth of her first child.

She goes into this weekend's round of the World Cup in London having already picked up four golds at the first two rounds in Milton, Canada and Berlin - winning in the team pursuit twice, the Omnium in Milton and the Madison in Berlin.

And she says the difference between now and the European Championships in August, where she had golds in the team pursuit and elimination race but finished a disappointing fourth alongside Katie Archibald in the Madison, is clear.

"The Euros didn't go how we thought, I guess," she said.

"The level was at a completely different level to what I'd raced at before. In the elimination race, even though I won that I didn't feel good in myself, I didn't feel like the old Laura.

"More recently more and more that's who I've been. The feeling when I get in a sprint now, I think, 'Yeah, this is on'.

"I don't feel scared anymore. I know it was only a year but it did take me by surprise how I felt in a bunch. Now I feel back to my old self and relaxed in there."

In Berlin, Kenny was a late replacement for Archibald in the Madison but took gold alongside Emily Nelson all the same.

Even so, she admitted the event - which will be an Olympic race for the first time in 2020 - is the toughest for her.

"When it comes to the individual events I definitely find the Madison the most challenging," she said.

"The Madison is so new and because I took a year out I didn't have the experience of a lower level, I got thrown in at the deep end a bit.

"When I was on the start line I was dreading it because I didn't know what to expect, so I'm glad that went well."