Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor PLY hopes a new mindset adopted since becoming a mum will help her deliver her best as she returns to the international stage at the 2026 UCI Para cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands (29 October–1 November).
The Paris 2024 Paralympic silver medallist took a break from the Para sport to give birth to her first child, Henry, last November. Having only returned to full squad training in May, the Cambridge-based Para cyclist is a little unsure how her current fitness will stack up globally – but she is approaching the challenge with a fresh perspective.
“I am getting nervous ahead of worlds,” she says. “I want to do well and put my best foot forward. But being a mum changes your perspective. Henry doesn’t care how I do on the bike; he just wants a happy, engaged mum. I’m trying to put less pressure on myself and enjoy the process more than I used to.”
Following Henry’s birth, the 35-year-old is embracing every moment of her sporting career. Uncertain during pregnancy how her body would react or if elite sport would still be viable, she has made a positive return.
Juggling parenthood and training hasn’t been straightforward, but a strong support network has smoothed the path. Crucially, her fiancé, Frans, is on double duty also serving as her strength and conditioning coach.
“I’m very lucky that Frans is my trainer,” she says. “He has always been invested in my sporting ambitions, but for him to be part of it in this way is another level of special.”
After training solo for six months, Anna rejoined the New Zealand squad in May. Her current routine blends two track and one gym session with the team, balanced by two gym sessions and four road rides completed individually.
This hybrid schedule allows her to spend more time based at home, which fits perfectly with a major shake-up to the LA28 Paralympic Games programme. The traditional individual pursuit has been replaced by more bunch racing, and the 500m time trial has doubled to a 1000m event. The C4 and C5 classes have been combined.
“The competition pool is far deeper now than when I was just competing against other C4s,” Anna explains.
Yet, she has embraced the challenge. The shift toward shorter, punchier distances requires less endurance mileage, freeing up more time for motherhood.
“Postpartum, this has worked perfectly”, she says. “I’m doing high-intensity efforts in training but for a shorter period of time.”
Spurred on by her teammates’ recent five-medal haul at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, Anna is looking ahead to a massive month. Beyond the track worlds, she celebrates with Henry his first birthday and at the end of the month she gets married to Frans.
First, though, comes Apeldoorn, where she lines up in the Women’s 1000m Time Trial C4 and the Mixed Team Sprint C1-5.
As for her expectations?
“It is really hard because I don’t quite know where I’m at, but my goal is to set a PB in the kilo,” she says. “I’m not putting pressure on myself; it’s more about reintroducing myself to the world stage. So much has changed for me and my body since Paris. I now love racing for racing’s sake, and it will be cool just to be back in that environment.”
***We will continue to follow the journey of the Anna and other Para cyclists representing New Zealand in the countdown to and during the UCI Para cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
