Kelsey Mitchell did not have time to decant his Olympics.
Just over two months after winning the sprint at the Tokyo Olympics, the 27-year-old Albertan will be looking to add two titles at the World Track Cycling Championships.
Mitchell and Tokyo bronze medalist Lauriane Genest of Quebec lead a delegation of 16 Canadians to the Worlds which kick off Wednesday in Roubaix, France.
In 2020, in Berlin, Mitchell had taken fourth place in the sprint.
“I don’t have any Worlds medals, so I’m going there hoping to bring one home,” Mitchell told The Canadian Press. Otherwise, I’m going to put in the best possible performance and see what I get out of it. »
Mitchell brought Canada a 24th medal and a seventh gold just hours before the closing ceremony of the Olympics on August 8.
After a short stop in Alberta to celebrate with family and friends, be honored at football and soccer games and tour the media, she was back training at the velodrome in Milton, Ontario before the end of the month.
She did not have time to see the future after her Olympic triumph.
“I can definitely see how some athletes can go through this incredible experience and wonder what’s next,” said Mitchell, only the second Canadian to win an Olympic track gold medal after Lori-Ann Muenzer in 2004. My life has as resumed its normal course. I couldn’t have imagined myself taking a long break. »
“I felt really bad after just two weeks. I was happy to be back on track to get back in shape for the Worlds. It’s fantastic because it doesn’t stop. »
Mitchell, Genest and Sarah Orban will tackle the team sprint on Wednesday at the Stab Vélodrome. The individual sprint will be launched on Thursday and the final rounds will take place on Friday.
Genest, third in the keirin in Tokyo, will participate on the last day of competition, Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mitchell is taking French lessons, since Genest is a close friend and her spouse, teammate Hugo Barrette, comes from the Magdalen Islands. You can follow her progress on her Instagram account, where she puts videos during the “Vendredis francophones” (“French Fridays”).
“I can be seen practicing about 20 times with my teammates, who are French-speaking. I try to show my subscribers that I’m learning French, or at least that I’m trying. »
