The UCI Track Champions League’s status as one of the ‘Monuments’ of track cycling was further enhanced at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, with a remarkable 12 riders from the first two seasons claiming rainbow jerseys in Glasgow, and a further 15 riders earning podium positions.
Jennifer Valente (United States) was arguably the stand-out performer, wrapping up two UCI world titles in the Scratch and Omnium events whilst also taking a silver medal in the Elimination.
Emma Hinze (Germany – Team Sprint and 500m Time Trial), Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands – Team Sprint and Sprint) and Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands – Team Sprint and 1km Time Trial) also achieved two UCI world titles apiece.
Sophie Lea Friedrich (Germany – gold in Team Sprint, silver in Sprint and bronze in 500m Time Trial), Emma Finucane (Great Britain – gold in Sprint, silver in Team Sprint), Aaron Gate (New Zealand – gold in Points Race, silver in Madison), Matthew Richardson (Australia – silver in Team Sprint and Keirin) and Michaela Drummond (New Zealand – silver in Team Pursuit, bronze in Scratch) meanwhile, also won multiple medals.
Pauline Grabosch (Germany – Team Sprint), William Tidball (Great Britain – Scratch), Katie Archibald (Great Britain – Team Pursuit), Iúri Leitão (Portugal – Omnium) and Kevin Quintero (Colombia – Keirin) were also crowned UCI world champions while the following riders also secured medals:
Martha Bayona (Colombia – silver in Keirin), Dylan Bibic (Canada – silver in Elimination), Lauren Bell (Great Britain – silver in Team Sprint), Sophie Capewell (Great Britain – silver in Team Sprint), Kuboki Kazushige (Japan – silver in Scratch), Tuur Dens (Belgium – bronze in Scratch), Rayan Helal (France – bronze in Team Sprint), Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tobago – silver in Sprint), Thomas Cornish (Australia – bronze in 1km Time Trial), Uchino Tsuyaka (Japan – bronze in Points Race), Oliver Wood (Great Britain – silver in Madison), Mark Stewart (Great Britain – silver in Madison) and Nakano Shinji (Japan – bronze in Keirin).
Attentions will now turn to the 2023 UCI Track Champions League, which gets underway in Mallorca, Spain on Saturday 21st October, with Round 2 taking place in Berlin, Germany on Saturday 28th October, Round 3 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France (Saturday 4th November), and Rounds 4 and 5 (the Grand Finale) being held in London, Great Britain, on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November respectively.
