72 of the world’s best track cyclists, spanning 30 nationalities, receive a golden ticket to the inaugural season of the UCI Track Champions League.
36 male, 36 female, between them they hold:
– 29 Olympic medals, including 10 gold medals
– 63 UCI Track Cycling World Championship titles
Above: Lea Friedrich, triple UCI World Champion in Roubaix, France (photo credit: SWpix.com)
October 29 2021 – Paris, France: Some of the world’s greatest track cyclists are set to go head-to-head like never before from next week, as the UCI Track Champions league confirms its final entry list ahead of round one of the inaugural series on November 6.
Fifty riders announced today join a star-studded list of 22 pre-qualified athletes including Harrie Lavreysen, Jeffrey Hoogland, Katie Archibald, Kirsten Wild, Ed Clancy and Emma Hinze for a series that’s brimming with world-class international talent. The final 72 riders, spanning 30 nationalities, hold ten Olympic gold medals and a staggering 63 UCI Track Cycling World Championship titles between them.
Forty eight have qualified for the league based predominantly on their strong results at last week’s Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix, France. Two pre-qualified riders also join them to complete the 72 rider puzzle. All riders will compete for equal prize money in the innovative new series, set to elevate the sport to new levels with short format, high adrenaline racing, broadcast to millions.
Among the names today confirmed to ride the women’s sprint category are Lea Friedrich (Germany) – winner of 3 gold medals at the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix, France, Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Lauriane Genest (Canada) and Daria Shmeleva (Russia) – Olympic medalist, multiple UCI World Champion and European Champion. They’re joined by Sophie Capewell (Great Britain), Yana Tyshchenko (Russia), Mina Sato (Japan) and Anastasiia Voinova (Russia) – all of whom medalled at the UCI Track Worlds in Roubaix.
Above: Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Rayan Helal (photo credit: SWpix.com)
The Men’s Sprint qualified riders include: former European champion Mateusz Rudyk (Poland), Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist and silver medalist at the UCI Track Worlds in Roubaix Rayan Helal (France), as well as two-time UCI Track Cycling World Champion Stefan Bötticher (Germany), also a medalist in Roubaix.
Above: Yumi Kajihara – former UCI Track Cycling World Champion (Photo Credit: SWpix.com)
Among those who have qualified for the women’s endurance category are U23 European Road Race Champion Silvia Zanardi (Italy), 2021 European points race champion and Tokyo 2022 bronze medalist Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russia) and Yumi Kajihara (Japan) – silver medalist in the omnium at Tokyo 2020 and 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Champion.
Above: Rhys Britton, bronze medalist in the scratch race in Roubaix (Photo Credit: SWpix.com)
The recently qualified men’s endurance riders include Tuur Dens (Belgium), Luri Leitao (Portugal), Rhys Britton (Great Britain) and Michele Scartezzini (Italy) – all medalists at the UCI Track Worlds in Roubaix.
The UCI Track Champions League will feature the very best talent coming together in a way never seen before, battling it out across five rounds in four countries. For riders, selection represents a ‘golden ticket’ to the most exciting series in track cycling. For millions of fans around the world, it is another step closer to an action-packed, technology-driven sporting experience whether watching live in the velodrome, via an innovative, premium TV broadcast, or online.
Round 1, at the Velòdrom Illes Balears, Mallorca, Spain, begins on November 6.
UCI President David Lappartient said: “After much anticipation, the UCI Track Champions League is just around the corner and I am incredibly excited to see this fantastic format come to fruition. The Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix this month were an incredible spectacle, and now we have the best riders from that event lining up for the UCI Track Champions League. They will join the pre-qualified riders to form one of the most high-class track cycling fields we have seen in recent times. So many Olympic and UCI World Champions in one velodrome at the same time is a guarantee of an amazing show. Together with Discovery Sports Events, we are staging an unprecedented event that will delight the athletes and the fans with back-to-back action through November and December.”
François Ribeiro, Head of Discovery Sports Events said: “With less than two weeks before kick-off, the entry list truly reflects what UCI Track Champions League was designed for: a competition made for the best male and female sprinters in the world. Attracting these high-profile riders – including Olympic, World, European and Pan-American champions – is a testament of the efforts that Discovery Sports Events has put behind that new asset since we signed our promoter contract with UCI last January 2020 at Berlin, just before the world locked-down. Combining riders of this calibre with explosive, short format racing will create a thrilling spectacle. We’re proud to work in partnership with the UCI to bring this event to life, and will be working flat-out on final preparations until the first race next Nov 6 at Mallorca.”
FINAL ENTRY LIST
Sprint – Women:
Lauriane Genest (Canada)
Lea Friedrich (Germany)
Miriam Vece (Italy)
Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia)
Riyu Ohta (Japan)
Sophie Capewell (Great Britain)
Yana Tyshchenko (Russia)
Daria Shmeleva (Russia)
Laurine Van Riessen (Netherlands)
Anastasiia Voinova (Russia)
Mina Sato (Japan)
Yuli Paola Verdugo Osuna (Mexico)
Emma Hinze (Germany)
Mathilde Gros (France)
Simona Krupeckaitė (Lithuania)
Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands)
Olena Starikova (Ukraine)
Sprint – Men:
Jean Spies (South Africa)
Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
Jair Tjon En Fa (Suriname)
Tom Derache (France)
Jordan Castle (New Zealand)
Kevin Quintero Chavarro (Colombia)
Mikhail Yakovlev (Russia)
Kento Yamasaki (Japan)
Rayan Helal (France)
Stefan Bötticher (Germany)
Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand)
Hugo Barrette (Canada)
Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tobago)
Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania)
Maximilian Levy (Germany)
Denis Dmitriev (Russia)
Endurance – Women:
Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada)
Hanna Tserakh (Belarus)
Tania Calvo (Spain)
Michelle Andres (Switzerland)
Alžbeta Bačíková (Slovakia)
Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russia)
Emily Kay (Ireland)
Silvia Zanardi (Italy)
Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland)
Maria Martins (Portugal)
Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania)
Eukene Larrarte (Spain)
Yumi Kajihara (Japan)
Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
Katie Archibald (Great Britain)
Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway)
Annette Edmondson (Australia)
Kendall Ryan (USA)
Endurance – Men:
Tuur Dens (Belgium)
Rhys Britton (UK)
Roy Eefting (Netherlands)
Alan Banaszek (Poland)
Jules Hesters (Belgium)
Gavin Hoover (USA)
Michele Scartezzini (Italy)
Kazushige Kuboki (Japan)
Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)
Aaron Gate (New Zealand)
Iuri Leitao (Portugal)
Erik Martorell Haga (Spain)
Ed Clancy (Great Britain)
Sebastian Mora (Spain)
Corbin Strong (New Zealand)
Yacine Chalel (Algeria)
Kelland O’Brien (Australia)
Rotem Tene (Israel)
Race Calendar:
Round 1: November 6, Mallorca / Velòdrom Illes Balears, Spain
Tickets here
Round 2: November 27. Panevézys / Cido Arena, Lithuania
Tickets here
Round 3: December 3, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK
Tickets here
Round 4: December 4, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK
Tickets here
Round 5: December 11, Tel Aviv / Sylvan Adams National Velodrome, Israel
Tickets on sale soon: here
For more information about the UCI Track Champions League, visit www.ucitrackchampionsleague.com.
