Stars align: the UCI Track Champions League is back

From the first round in Mallorca (Spain) to London’s British double-header to wrap the series in early December, 72 champions will battle to determine who are the best riders in the endurance and sprint leagues.

It’s time for the best track experts to bring more action to the velodromes! The second edition of the UCI Track Champions League is around the corner, with the first round to be held in Mallorca (Spain), on November 12.

After a successful first edition in 2021, the series returns with the action-packed format designed in association with Discovery Sports Events and with the input of Kristina Vogel and Chris Hoy. A star-studded field of 72 riders is set to deliver outstanding performances in the sprint and endurance leagues.

Three of the four reigning winners return to defend their crowns: Great Britain’s Katie Archibald (women endurance), the USA’s Gavin Hoover (men endurance) and the Netherlands’ Harrie Lavreysen (men sprint), while Germany’s Emma Hinze (women sprint) sits out to “recharge the batteries”.

Sprint: a fast and furious cast

The casting is nonetheless impressive, notably led by Hinze’s compatriots, partners and rivals Lea Friedrich and Pauline Grabosch, who were crowned UCI World Champions in the team sprint a few weeks ago.

The latter will make her debut in the UCI Track Champions League this year: “I’ve heard the competition is super hard but also hugely enjoyable at the same time, and there’s a real camaraderie between the riders who compete in it. Being a German rider, I’m particularly looking forward to the Berlin round on Saturday 19 November, but I’m sure all five rounds will be really fun, and I can’t wait to get going.”

Among the 36 sprinters lining up this year, eight of them recently claimed rainbow jerseys. France’s Taky Marie-Divine Kouamé and Mathilde Gros have a special rendezvous in the velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, where they took glory during the UCI Worlds and where they will battle again in round 3 of the UCI Track Champions League (November 26).

In addition to this French pair, Harrie Lavreysen and the German power duo of Friedrich and Grabosch, Jeffrey Hoogland (NED), Thomas Cornish (AUS) and Matthew Richardson (AUS) are the other recent UCI World Champions gearing up for the first round in Mallorca.

Endurance: icons of the sport

The endurance league is equally impressive and features defending winners of the UCI Track Champions League, Archibald and Hoover.

Archibald is joined by her British compatriot Laura Kenny, a five-time Olympic Champion (including the team pursuit gold with Archibald in 2016). The two stars have amassed many successes together but this time they’ll face each other and 16 more champions in the women’s endurance league.

“The competition is going to be fierce”, says Jennifer Valente (USA) after taking her fifth UCI World Champion’s crown last month. “As a first-timer, the quickfire racing format is going to take a little getting used to. I’ll be doing all I can though, to round off what’s been an incredible year for me on a high.”

Valente is also a reigning Olympic Champion, as is Matthijs Büchli (NED), while Dylan Bibic (CAN) and Oliver Wood (GBR) bring the rainbow stripes they recently conquered in the male endurance league.

Hoover will face a hard battle to retain the title he earned last year but he is absolutely thrilled to get the action going. “It was the most fun I’ve ever had racing my bike!”, the American rider says about the last edition.

From Mallorca to London

Together, the 72 riders of the 2022 UCI Track Champions League represent 25 nations and have won 60 UCI World Champion titles.

All these stars will race across the same format as last year’s competition. At each event, sprinters ride the keirin and the individual sprint, while the endurance competitors face elimination and Scratch races. At each round, all the action is packed in one night.

The venues should be familiar too, from Mallorca to London, hosting a double header on two consecutive nights for a thrilling finale:

  • Super Launch, Mallorca (Spain), November 12

  • round 2, Berlin (Germany), November 19

  • round 3, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France), November 26

  • round 4, London (Great Britain), December 2

  • Grand Finale, London (Great Britain), December 3