20 February 2024 , 06:30
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Jody Cundy is mounting a mammoth comeback to the velodrome after the toughest Paralympic cycle of his career.
After the jubilation of gold and silver at Tokyo 2020, the eight-time Paralympic champion picked up injury and illness which saw him out of action for five months.
The 45-year-old lost all fitness and motivation but has built himself back up since, admitting that donning his dancing shoes for Strictly Come Dancing was exactly the break he needed from the sport in the autumn.
With all focus on targeting an eighth Paralympic appearance, 23-time world champion Cundy is riding the highs as he approaches Paris 2024.
He said: “I was on a high having won a silver and gold, and I was looking forward to the prospect of taking that form. With the injury and illness, as much as I was motivated to get back in training, I fell into bad habits of not doing anything for five months.
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“I lost fitness, I was out of routine and it’s been a really hard process to find the form that I had pre-Tokyo. Each time I’m getting older, everyone I’m racing against is getting younger and faster, everything seems to be stacked against me so the motivation has been going in waves.
“Strictly was the first time in my whole career where I've had a break from cycling, walking away and doing something completely different has actually improved my gym, balance and mobility.
“It was a nice mental break and hopefully I’m now back on track for where I need to be.”
Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystal during Strictly Come Dancing (BBC)Cundy romped to a 14th straight C4 kilo world title at the World Championships in Glasgow last summer as well as world silver in the C4-5 team sprint with Kadeena Cox and Jaco van Gass.
Making the Paris 2024 ParalympicsGB squad rests on pulling out performances at the British National Track Championships and the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio this year. With experience in his corner on and off the track, Cundy hopes his newfound drive will propel him to a shot at what could be his final Paralympics.
He added: “I’ve also had some tough times personally, all those little things have eaten away at the performance of riding my bike.
“The bike riding is almost the simple bit – last year I put a post out to say I was struggling after National Championships and it was the worst performance I’d ever done. I was really at the lowest of lows but I managed to pick myself up from there in Glasgow and seem to be back on track.”
British Cycling’s elder statesman, who swapped the swimming pool for pedals following his first three Paralympic titles, is under no illusions who he will be cycling for in 2024.
He said: “The motivation for me over the next six or seven months is that I want to win for myself. There are so many things I've done in the past for a coach, for friends and family, and I always felt like I owed somebody something.
“For this one, it's about me and I want to I want to perform the best I can.
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Silver medalist Jody Cundy of Team Great Britain celebrates at Tokyo 2020 (Getty Images)“If I do call it a day, I can go out on a high knowing that I've given absolutely everything to the sport and this one is mine.”
Cundy is one of over 1,000 athletes supported by UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded World Class Programme, allowing him to train full time, have access to the world’s best coaches and benefit from pioneering medical support.
The injection of funding after Atlanta 1996 revolutionised British success on the global stage and as an athlete to have experienced life both before and after its impact, Cundy is acutely aware of the difference it makes.
“It seems a long while ago since I had my first Games as a swimmer in Atlanta,” he added. I couldn't imagine doing one or two more Games, let alone preparing for my eighth, so it’s a crazy prospect.
“I’ve had an amazing career that’s really been helped by The National Lottery to keep me at this point. My out-and-out standout gold medal is the team sprint from Tokyo, it’s a team event and one of those ones where if you had to say, it wasn’t the perfect race but it’s the one where everything came together.”
National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen