UCI Track Champions League 2021 – 1 – Mallorca

November 6, 2021

UCI Track Champions League 2021 – 1 – Mallorca – Mallorca

The Track Champions League (TCL) is a brand new event looking to revolutionise and revive the sport of track cycling. With a focus on fast-paced, easy-to-understand races, this event is perfect for newcomers to the sport, as well as diehard fans. The league comprises five international rounds held over five action-packed weeks. Each round/competition sees 36 men and 36 women racing against one another in four different events, two Endurance races and two Sprint races. Riders earn points through their results in these events. Points accumulate over the five weeks and, at the end, those with the most will be declared the winners of their respective Sprint League or Endurance League. Whatsmore, prize money for both men and women across the competitions is equal!

Katie Archibald (Great Britain) took the first leader’s jersey in the UCI Track Champions League Women’s Endurance category, winning the Elimination Race and placing fourth in the Scratch Race.

Archibald leads the series by three points ahead of Canadian Maggie-Coles Lyster who won the Scratch Race. In third is Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) four further points adrift.

“In the scratch race I changed my gear strategy, I thought it would be different to what I was used to – 20 laps, I knew that everybody wanted to go out hard. I didn’t manage to get those breakaway riders back in the end, but I know that with the Elimination Race if you’re willing to go deep you can usually come out on top.”

Scratch Race

Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) won the Women’s Scratch Race from a three-rider breakaway in the 20km event.

Coles-Lyster went to the front ahead of the final lap and kept the gas on, powering to the finish to win ahead of Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania), with Hanna Tserakh (Belarus) in third.

Katie Archibald (Great Britain) won the sprint from the bunch ahead of Yumi Kajihara (Japan).

“It’s pretty crazy to win the first one here,” Coles-Lyster said. “Honestly, I didn’t think we’d stay away. When I saw them charging from behind I thought – aaugh – they’re going to come over me but then we were 50m from the line and I said they’d better not come over me now, we’re right here!”

After a brisk start to the 20-lap race, Coles Lyster (Canada) attacked just ahead of the halfway point and was joined by Hanna Tserakh (Belarus) and Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) and by the final kilometre, they still enjoyed half a lap.

Back in the peloton, the pre-race favourites like Katie Archibald and Kristen Wild watched each other and allowed the leaders to hold their gap to the line.

Elimination Race

Archibald put in a dominant ride in the women’s Elimination Race, riding away from Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) on the bell lap.

Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway) was third.

Coles-Lyster was the first of the favourites to be eliminated with seven riders left to go, as the racing became increasingly aggressive after a controlled start.

Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) was the fifth last rider remaining. An attack from Archibald saw Annette Edmondson (Australia) eliminated fourth.

Women’s Scratch Race Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada)
2 Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania)
3 Hanna Tserakh (Belarus)
4 Katie Archibald (Great Britain)
5 Yumi Kajihara (Japan)
6 Annette Edmondson (Australia)
7 Emily Kay (Ireland)
8 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
9 Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway)
10 Kendall Ryan (United States Of America)
11 Maria Martins (Portugal)
12 Tania Calvo (Spain)
13 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland)
14 Silvia Zanardi (Italy)
15 Eukene Larrarte (Spain)
16 Michelle Andres (Switzerland)
17 Alzbeta Bacikova (Slovakia)
DNS Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russian Federation)
Women’s Elimination Race Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Katie Archibald (Great Britain)
2 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands)
3 Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway)
4 Annette Edmondson (Australia)
5 Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania)
6 Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada)
7 Silvia Zanardi (Italy)
8 Maria Martins (Portugal)
9 Hanna Tserakh (Belarus)
10 Michelle Andres (Switzerland)
11 Tania Calvo (Spain)
12 Alzbeta Bacikova (Slovakia)
13 Eukene Larrarte (Spain)
14 Yumi Kajihara (Japan)
15 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland)
16 Emily Kay (Ireland)
17 Kendall Ryan (United States Of America)
DNS Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russian Federation)
Standings
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Katie Archibald (Great Britain) 38
2 Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) 35
3 Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) 31
4 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) 28
5 Annette Edmondson (Australia) 23
6 Hanna Tserakh (Belarus) 23
7 Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway) 22
8 Yumi Kajihara (Japan) 13
9 Maria Martins (Portugal) 13
10 Silvia Zanardi (Italy) 11
11 Emily Kay (Ireland) 9
12 Tania Calvo (Spain) 9
13 Kendall Ryan (United States Of America) 6
14 Michelle Andres (Switzerland) 6
15 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland) 4
16 Eukene Larrarte (Spain) 4
17 Alzbeta Bacikova (Slovakia) 4
18 Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russian Federation)

Corbyn Strong (New Zealand) put in a commanding performance on the first night of the UCI Track Champions League in Mallorca, winning both men’s endurance events to take the series lead.

Strong out-sprinted Gavin Hoover (USA) and Sebastian Mora (Spain) to win the Elimination Race and topped Rhys Britton (Great Britain) to win the Scratch Race.

“It’s pretty awesome even to be here at this race. To get the wins is very special and hopefully I can carry some form for the rest of the series,” Strong said.

“I like to go into even the biggest races really relaxed, so having the environment with the crowd and the lights really suits me.”

Elimination Race

Claudio Imhof (Switzerland), Jules Hesters (Belgium) and Ed Clancy (Great Britain) were the first riders eliminated and were soon followed by Rhys Britton (Great Britain).

Leitao lasted until there were four riders left, leaving just Strong, Hoover and Mora.

Hoover just managed to edge out Mora to face Strong for the win but when it came to the final sprint, the Kiwi had more power and took back-to-back victories in the men’s endurance category.

Scratch Race

Corbin Strong (New Zealand) came out on top in a Scratch Race contested over much a shorter than usual distance, just 20km.

Strong raced patiently, backing himself in the sprint and ensuring he was perfectly positioned to power to the line.

“It was pretty intense, with 20 laps it was full gas from the start – a bit of a shock to the system, if you weren’t warmed up properly you were going to struggle in the first part of the race,” Strong said.

“I think I probably don’t have the form of the likes of Aaron Gate to attack and go long, so I thought I’d sit back and make sure I was in a good position from the sprint. Thankfully Iuri Leitao gave me a good lead-out – I hope he got up from second because I like his style of racing.”

Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) was the first to make a probing attack before going all-in at the halfway point.

Imhof did not have the steam to go to the line, however, and when Sebastian Mora (Spain) and Kellan O’Brien (Australia) joined then dropped him, Imhof made another scramble to get across along with Japan’s Kazushige Kuboki.

The four were dangling just ahead of the peloton, led by Ed Clancy (Great Britain) and were finally caught with four laps to go.

Iuri Leitao (Portugal) led the sprint out but Corbin Strong (New Zealand) was quick to get on his wheel and, as the sprint opened up, Strong powered to victory as Rhys Britton (Great Britain) pipped Leitao to take second.

Men’s Scratch Race Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Corbin Strong (New Zealand)
2 Rhys Britton (Great Britain)
3 Iuri Leitao (Portugal)
4 Roy Eefting (Netherlands)
5 Erik Martorell Haga (Spain)
6 Gavin Hoover (United States Of America)
7 Aaron Gate (New Zealand)
8 Jules Hesters (Belgium)
9 Kazushige Kuboki (Japan)
10 Alan Banaszek (Poland)
11 Kelland O’Brien (Australia)
12 Sebastian Mora (Spain)
13 Tuur Dens (Belgium)
14 Ed Clancy (Great Britain)
15 Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)
16 Rotem Tene (Israel)
17 Michele Scartezzini (Italy)
18 Yacine Chalel (Algeria)
Men’s Elimination Race Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Corbin Strong (New Zealand)
2 Gavin Hoover (United States Of America)
3 Sebastian Mora (Spain)
4 Iuri Leitao (Portugal)
5 Aaron Gate (New Zealand)
6 Alan Banaszek (Poland)
7 Roy Eefting (Netherlands)
8 Kazushige Kuboki (Japan)
9 Kelland O’Brien (Australia)
10 Yacine Chalel (Algeria)
11 Rotem Tene (Israel)
12 Michele Scartezzini (Italy)
13 Tuur Dens (Belgium)
14 Erik Martorell Haga (Spain)
15 Rhys Britton (Great Britain)
16 Ed Clancy (Great Britain)
17 Jules Hesters (Belgium)
18 Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)
Men’s Endurance Standings
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Corbin Strong (New Zealand) 40
2 Iuri Leitao (Portugal) 30
2 Gavin Hoover (United States Of America) 27
4 Aaron Gate (New Zealand) 20
5 Roy Eefting (Netherlands) 20
6 Sebastian Mora (Spain) 19
7 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 16
8 Kazushige Kuboki (Japan) 16
9 Rhys Britton (Great Britain) 16
10 Erik Martorell Haga (Spain) 15
11 Kelland O’Brien (Australia) 12
12 Michele Scartezzini (Italy) 7
13 Jules Hesters (Belgium) 7
14 Yacine Chalel (Algeria) 6
15 Rotem Tene (Israel) 5
16 Tuur Dens (Belgium) 5
17 Ed Clancy (Great Britain) 1
18 Claudio Imhof (Switzerland)

World champion Emma Hinze (Germany) bested her compatriot Lea Friedrich to take out the sprint competition in the first UCI Track Champions League round, and moved into the lead of the series as a result.

The world champion proved the most powerful in the two-rider sprint finale after a taxing night of racing.

Hinze was second in the keirin behind Canada’s Kelsey Mitchell and leads the standings with 37 points.

Mitchell is second with 35, while Friedrich is third with 30.

Sprint

The first rounds of the women’s sprint were blowout affairs, with Germans Emma Hinze and Lea Friedrich and Canadian Kelsey Mitchell putting in dominant rides. Lauriane Genest (Canada) had to go long to hold off Simona Krupeckaitė (Lithuania). Olena Starikova (Ukraine) held off Martha Bayona (Colombia), while Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands) took the last spot in the semifinal ahead of Miriam Vece (Italy).

In the semifinal, Hinze was unflappable in her victory over Genest and Braspennincx, patiently waiting then powering through out of the last turn.

Her compatriot Friedrich also displayed immense composure in her elbow-to-elbow battle with Mitchell and Starikova.

The two Germans advanced to face each other in the final.

Keirin

Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) claimed the victory in the women’s Keirin, putting in the kind of powerful surge that won her Olympic gold in the sprint in Tokyo out of the final turn.

Mitchell came over the top of world champion Lea Friedrich (Germany) in the final turn and held on to win ahead of Emma Hinze (Germany) with Martha Bayona (Colombia) in third.

In the final, Mathilde Gros (France) made the first surge only to be quickly overtaken by Friedrich. The world champion faded before the final turn and Mitchell came over the top to snatch victory at the line.

The opening heat of the Women’s Keirin was dominated by world champion Lea Friedrich (Germany), while Canadian Lauriane Genest snuck inside to take second but was relegated, putting Colombian Martha Bayona into the final round.

Mathilde Gros (France) and Miriam Vece (Italy) advanced from the second heat while Olympic sprint champion Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) sailed through with Emma Hinze (Germany) from heat three.

Women’s Keirin Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Lea Friedrich (Germany)
2 Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia)
3 Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands)
4 Olena Starikova (Ukraine)
5 Sophie Capewell (Great Britain)
REL Lauriane Genest (Canada)
Women’s Keirin Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Mathilde Gros (France)
2 Miriam Vece (Italy)
3 Mina Sato (Japan)
4 Daria Shmeleva (Russian Federation)
5 Yuli Paola Verdugo Osuna (Mexico)
6 Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania)
Women’s Keirin Heat 3
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
2 Emma Hinze (Germany)
3 Yana Tyshchenko (Russian Federation)
4 Anastasiia Voinova (Russian Federation)
5 Riyu Ohta (Japan)
6 Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands)
Women’s Keirin Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
2 Emma Hinze (Germany)
3 Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia)
4 Lea Friedrich (Germany)
5 Mathilde Gros (France)
6 Miriam Vece (Italy)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Emma Hinze (Germany)
2 Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands)
3 Daria Shmeleva (Russian Federation)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Lea Friedrich (Germany)
2 Anastasiia Voinova (Russian Federation)
3 Mina Sato (Japan)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 3
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
2 Sophie Capewell (Great Britain)
3 Yana Tyshchenko (Russian Federation)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 4
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Lauriane Genest (Canada)
2 Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania)
3 Riyu Ohta (Japan)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 5
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Olena Starikova (Ukraine)
2 Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia)
3 Mathilde Gros (France)
Women’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 6
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands)
2 Miriam Vece (Italy)
3 Yuli Paola Verdugo Osuna (Mexico)
Women’s Sprint Semifinal Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Emma Hinze (Germany)
2 Lauriane Genest (Canada)
3 Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands)
Women’s Sprint Semifinal Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Lea Friedrich (Germany)
2 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
3 Olena Starikova (Ukraine)
Women’s Sprint Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Emma Hinze (Germany)
2 Lea Friedrich (Germany)
Women’s Sprint Standings
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Emma Hinze (Germany) 37
2 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) 35
3 Lea Friedrich (Germany) 30
4 Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia) 22
5 Miriam Vece (Italy) 19
6 Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands) 18
7 Mathilde Gros (France) 16
8 Yana Tyshchenko (Russian Federation) 15
9 Lauriane Genest (Canada) 13
10 Olena Starikova (Ukraine) 11
11 Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania) 9
12 Riyu Ohta (Japan) 7
13 Anastasiia Voinova (Russian Federation) 7
14 Yuli Paola Verdugo Osuna (Mexico) 6
15 Mina Sato (Japan) 6
16 Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands) 5
17 Daria Shmeleva (Russian Federation) 5
18 Sophie Capewell (Great Britain) 1

Harrie Lavreysen – the world and Olympic sprint champion – proved to be the dominant force in the men’s sprint events in the first round of the UCI Track Champions League, taking the lead in the first round by winning the individual sprint and taking a close second in the keirin.

In the sprint, Lavreysen utterly smashed the final against the young Russian Mikhail Iakovlev who surprised Lavreysen’s compatriot Jeffrey Hoogland in the semifinal to advance into the final.

But when it came to the two-up sprint, Iakovlev had no answer to the acceleration of the Dutchman and let go of his wheel with half a lap still to race.

“It was fun racing with three riders, it was hard and tactical. I liked it and felt really strong.

“He’s still young and he’s coming there. I thought let’s build a lot of speed and surprise him, and he wasn’t ready for my speed. But it was a good final.”

Sprint

Mateusz Rudyk (Poland), Mikhail Iakovlev (Russia), Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tobago), Stefan Botticher (Germany) and pre-race favourites Jeffrey Hoogland and Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) won the opening heat of the men’s sprint. The races took the unique format of three riders per heat with only the winners advancing to the semi-finals. As a result, the racing lacked the usual tactical games of the individual sprint and favoured early attackers.

Paul said the format “changed a lot tactically because it’s not only one rider, you have to be aware of two riders so it was very different”.

The sprint semifinal pitted Paul and Rudyk against Lavreysen, while Iakovlev and Botticher had to contend with Hoogland.

Rudyk opened up the effort first in heat 1, but Paul surged ahead of the bell. The acceleration only served to inspire Lavreysen to push through on the inside, forcing Paul high up on the banking. With a superior turn of speed and the shorter line, Lavreysen blasted away to take the semifinal win over Paul to advance to the final.

In the second heat, Botticher took the front early but it was Iakovlev who opened up the sprint with more than a lap and a half to go. With Botticher in the sprint lane and the Russian holding tight to the inside, Hoogland was forced to take the long way around and came up short – Iakovlev advanced to the final and the Dutchman was denied.

Keirin

On the first heat of the men’s Keirin, Stefan Botticher (Germany) left nothing to chance and went early, with world champion Lavreysen having to scramble through to make the final by edging out Vasiliujs Lendel (Lithuania).

Before heat 2, Kento Yamasaki was dropped by his holder before the line-up and used the adrenaline boost to fuel a vicious turn of speed on the final lap to hold off Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) to advance.

The third heat went off a little more smoothly, with Nicholas Paul putting on a tactical masterclass to power to victory over Hugo barrett (Canada).

In the final, Botticher came to the front early to challenge Hoogland as Lavreysen waited too long.

The German held off his Dutch rivals to take a searing victory.

Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
2 Rayan Helal (France)
3 Denis Dmitriev (Russian Federation)
Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation)
2 Jair Tjon en Fa (Suriname)
3 Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand)
Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 3
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago)
2 Maximilian Levy (Germany)
3 Kento Yamasaki (Japan)
Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 4
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Stefan Botticher (Germany)
2 Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (Colombia)
3 Jean Spies (South Africa)
Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 5
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
2 Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania)
3 Jordan Castle (New Zealand)
Men’s Sprint Round 1 Heat 6
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
2 Tom Derache (France)
3 Hugo Barrette (Canada)
Men’s Sprint Semifinal Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
2 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago)
3 Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
Men’s Sprint Semifinal Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation)
2 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
3 Stefan Botticher (Germany)
Men’s Sprint Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
2 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation)
Men’s Keirin Heat 1
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Stefan Botticher (Germany)
2 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
3 Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania)
4 Rayan Helal (France)
5 Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
6 Denis Dmitriev (Russian Federation)
Men’s Keirin Heat 2
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Kento Yamasaki (Japan)
2 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
3 Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (Colombia)
4 Jordan Castle (New Zealand)
5 Maximilian Levy (Germany)
6 Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand)
Men’s Keirin Heat 3
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago)
2 Hugo Barrette (Canada)
3 Tom Derache (France)
4 Jean Spies (South Africa)
5 Jair Tjon en Fa (Suriname)
6 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation)
Men’s Keirin Final
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Stefan Botticher (Germany)
2 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
3 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
4 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago)
5 Hugo Barrette (Canada)
6 Kento Yamasaki (Japan)
Men’s Sprint Standings
Pos. Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) 37
2 Stefan Botticher (Germany) 33
3 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) 30
4 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago) 24
5 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation) 18
6 Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (Colombia) 16
7 Rayan Helal (France) 14
8 Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania) 13
9 Tom Derache (France) 12
10 Hugo Barrette (Canada) 11
11 Kento Yamasaki (Japan) 11
12 Mateusz Rudyk (Poland) 10
13 Jair Tjon en Fa (Suriname) 9
14 Jean Spies (South Africa) 6
15 Maximilian Levy (Germany) 6
16 Denis Dmitriev (Russian Federation) 6
17 Jordan Castle (New Zealand) 4
18 Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand) 2