The 119th edition of the UCI Track World Championships takes place at the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France, from 12 to16 October. Here are some of the riders who’ll light up the boards.
Georgia Baker
The 28-year-old Australian has enjoyed a stellar year on the road, winning the road race at the Commonwealth Games and bronze in the team time trial - mixed relay at the recent UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia. Now she turns her attention back to the track for which she made her name. The four-time National Champion on the track won 2022 Commonwealth gold in both the team pursuit and points race. We expect her to line up in both at the 2022 UCI Track World Championships.
Aaron Gate
New Zealand’s Aaron Gate is another rider who effortlessly – or so it seems – switches between road and track. There’s no clearer evidence than the Commonwealth Games in England earlier this summer where the 31-year-old Aucklander won three titles on the track – team pursuit, individual pursuit and points race – before going on to win the road race. He’s a multiple medallist at the UCI Track World Championships but, so far, only has one gold to his name. That was in the Omnium all the way back in 2013. He won silver in the same event last year and will line up in the Omnium again this year. He’ll also ride the team pursuit and join Campbell Stewart in the Madison.
Ethan Hayter
The 24-year-old Briton will look to build on his successes at last year’s UCI World Championships where he won gold and bronze in the Omnium and team pursuit, respectively. Hayter, who races on the road for Ineos Grenadiers, looks in good form after finishing fourth and ninth in the individual time trial and road races at the UCI Road World Championships, a mechanical in the time trial arguably preventing him from winning a medal. He also won the overall title at the Tour of Poland, as well as wearing the young rider’s jersey at the Vuelta Ciclista a España for four stages.
Emma Hinze
Germany may be without the legend that is Lisa Brennauer, who recently retired to join the German army, but they’ll still head to France with a powerful team including 25-year-old Hinze. Hinze is a nine-time UCI World Champion at both Elite and Junior level. Two of those titles came 12 months ago in Roubaix where she stormed to sprint and team sprint victory, just a few months after her team sprint silver at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lotte Kopecky
The 26-year-old Belgian is a star of both track and road. She’s a two-time UCI World Champion on the track, including victory in the points race at last year’s event in Roubaix. That gold was the icing on the cake for Kopecky who also won silver medals in the elimination race and Omnium. On the road, she recently finished second at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, behind Annemiek van Vleuten. Her silver medal concluded an incredible road season for Kopecky that saw her win the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Strade Bianche plus take second at Paris-Roubaix Femmes and fourth at Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields. It’s hard to look beyond Kopecky winning at least one gold in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
Harrie Lavreysen
The Netherlands’ superstar is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time UCI Track World Champion including two golds at the 2021 UCI Track World Championships in Roubaix, France. Twelve months ago, the 25-year-old won sprint and team sprint gold (alongside Roy van den Berg and Jeffrey Hoogland). He’ll be looking to repeat that double feat in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Recently, he revealed that he was looking forward to facing the powerful Nicholas Paul of Trinidad & Tobago. Unfortunately, Paul, a trainee athlete at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, is now out for the season after a crash in training.
One more week till we need to defend the rainbow stripes! 🌈 Yesterday we arrived in Roubaix for our final preparation! 🚴♂️💨 #bullettrain 🚄 #Trackcycling https://t.co/OeK1hzbVTh pic.twitter.com/MgwoNicJcR
— Harrie Lavreysen (@HarrieLavreysen) October 5, 2022
Benjamin Thomas
The 27-year-old Frenchman will look to entertain the crowds on home ground and aim to add to his four UCI World track titles, one of which came in 2021 in the points race. Away from the boards, Thomas has enjoyed a solid 2022 on the road with his UCI WorldTeam, Cofidis. He took the overall win at Boucles de la Mayenne as well as securing top-10s at Bretagne Classic, Tour de Luxembourg, Tour du Doubs and Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Team-mate Donavan Grondin will also be in France looking to defend his Scratch Race crown.