A BUSY year of track racing for six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny gets under way this month, with Bolton’s record gold medallist keen to add to his haul of national titles.

The Farnworth Flyer begins Olympic year by competing in the HSBC UK National Track Championships which will take place in Manchester from January 24.

Kenny collected three Olympic titles in Rio and another in this year’s Games in Tokyo would take him past Sir Chris Hoy’s tally of six.

“It is obviously a massive year, and every opportunity we get to race on the track ahead of Tokyo is an important one,” said the 31-year-old. “Nationals is always a really enjoyable weekend, and it’ll be a good way to start a huge year of racing.”

He began his gold rush with his first Olympic title in Beijing in 2008 and won two more in London four years later, before his triple-gold performance in the Rio games in 2016.

The track legend, who shuns the spotlight and the trappings of showbusiness, effectively retired following his exploits in Brazil, doing so in typically low-key fashion – there was no official public announcement, fanfare or declaration.

He simply disappeared from public view and began enjoying his downtime at home.

Kenny’s wife Laura also has four Olympic gold medals to her name, making an incredible 10 between them, and few would bet against that number increasing this summer – or their son Albie, who will be approaching his third birthday when the Olympics gets under way, perhaps taking to the saddle one day.

Kenny missed out on a medal in the men’s keirin on the final day of the Track World Cup event in Glasgow in November.

He made it through to the deciding race but once there he was caught out of position at the back and could not make up the deficit.

France’s Sebastian Vigier took gold, Kenny having earlier been knocked out in the quarter-finals of the men’s sprint.

But he did claim a silver in the keirin at the following World Cup event in Hong Kong.

And, despite him not ending 2019 on a high, the eyes of the world will be on Kenny in Tokyo. Not that he appears distracted by the prospect of ousting Hoy and becoming Britain’s most successful Olympian.

“I’m not working solely towards one ultimate goal,” he said.

“Obviously, the Olympics is the ultimate goal because it’s what we’re funded for and we’ve been brought up targeting.

“It’s always in the back of your mind. But I’m not here just to get to the Olympics. I’ve not planned anything, I don’t tend to plan anything anyway. I just want to enjoy the ride.

“I’m not interested in going searching for records, they’ll come when they come.

“When I’m racing I want to win, I want to get stuck in.

“I felt if you never try you’ll never know. In a way it (working towards the Games) is a commitment, but in another way it isn’t. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I haven’t lost anything. I’ll just be another year older. It’s not the end of the world.

“I’m in quite a lucky position: I can have a go and there’s no pressure. I can just see what I can get out of it.

“When you’re building towards a goal like the Olympics, you always wish you had more time.

“It’s about making the most of the time you’ve got.”