BACK towards her old self and back on top of the podium, Laura Kenny’s cycling comeback may just be nearing completion.

Not even a year has passed since she gave birth to son Albie but that didn’t stop the four-time Olympic champion regaining her rightful place atop the podium, securing her 11th European Track Cycling Championship title in Glasgow.

But she was far from alone in her venture, Katie Archibald joining her on 11 gold medals while fellow Olympic champion Elinor Barker, Neah Evans and Ellie Dickinson orchestrated a well-rehearsed team pursuit operation in beating Italy.

Great Britain have won the event on both occasions it has been an Olympic discipline, with few surprised as they took their place atop the podium in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

But even Kenny knows there is still more to come – despite crossing the line nearly nine seconds ahead of their counterparts in a time of 4:16.896.

“For me personally I don’t feel fully fit yet, what I compare to is Rio and it seems a long way from that, it took me two years to get to that,” she said.

“I’m not there just yet but I certainly feel much better than I did at the World Championships and I feel more like myself.

The Italians qualified well yesterday and then held up a really good second ride, so you just never know what people are going to come with in the final.

“They’re a really strong team and they’ve really improved over the last two years. It’s great to see that the level is getting higher and higher and it certainly pushes us to go quicker, that’s why it’s great to come here to what feels like a home Championships and come away with a win.”

But the golden feeling was not to beset her husband, Bolton’s Jason, as his team sprint squad failed to reach the final in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

The trio of Kenny, Jack Carlin and Ryan Owens had finished third in qualifying, stopping the clock at 43.454 seconds behind the Netherlands and Germany.

But the same afternoon’s first round wasn’t to go the same way as the British team, this time featuring Philip Hindes in place of Carlin, finished second – just a 10th of a second behind Poland in the head-to-head race. That brought a premature end to Jason’s European Championships, unable to add to his five European Championship medals as he prepares for a watching brief in support of his wife, who will compete in both the elimination race and Madison before her time in Glasgow is up.

Britain’s greatest female Olympian will do so with one gold medal already in her locker, while a piece of personal history could still be made if she picks up her first Madison title at a major competition.

n SSE customers can get up to 48 hour advanced ticketing, lounge upgrades, exclusive competitions and VIP experiences at our sponsored venues, The SSE Arena, Wembley and The SSE Hydro. We’re also incredibly proud to support The SSE Women’s FA Cup. ssereward.com