UCI Track Champions League 2021 – 4 – London

December 4, 2021

UCI Track Champions League 2021 – 4 – London – London

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!

Emma Hinze of Germany won the Women’s Sprint title for the inaugural UCI Track Champions League Saturday night in London at the Lee Valley VeloPark. She held a slight two-point lead over compatriot Lea Friedrich going into the fourth and final round, which was held In front of a sell-out crowd of over 5,500 spectators.

Hinze would seal the overall winning margin of 10 points on the closing night of the weekend doubleheader in London by taking fourth in the Keirin final and winning the Sprint final, while Friedrich failed to reach the Sprint final and finished sixth in the Keirin. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) finished third overall with 102 points, 26 off the mark set by Hinze.

The two Germans were expected to match up for the Women’s Sprint final, but. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) beat Friedrich by just 0.11 seconds in the semi-finals to line up against Hinze. After a calculated and steady start, Mitchell made the first big move but was unable to outpace Hinze. The result allowed Hinze to extend her lead, while Friedrich continued to hold a margin over Mitchell.

In the Keirin final, Friedrich was positioned behind the derny and followed by Hinze. In the last two laps, both riders showed signs of fatigue, with the win taken by Olena Starikova (Ukraine) just ahead of Mitchell in second place. Hinze punched the air as she finished third, just ahead of Friedrich, as she realised she would hold onto the overall title.

“I’m really proud that I take the jersey home because it was really close today and I didn’t know how the race would go and how much strength I can find in my body because I’m really, really tired. I think it was harder than the Olympics today because of two days of racing,” said Hinze, a five-time UCI World Champion.

”I’m pretty proud, happy and really satisfied. Of course, my goal was to win but I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never done it before. I knew it was going to be hard. I just try my best and I don’t think about the overall win, just heat to heat.”

Final Women’s Sprint Standings
1 Emma Hinze (Germany) 128
2 Lea Friedrich (Germany) 118
3 Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) 102
4 Martha Bayona Pineda (Colombia) 86
5 Olena Starikova (Ukraine) 84
6 Mathilde Gros (France) 67
7 Simona Krupeckaite (Lithuania) 60
8 Yana Tyshchenko (Russian Federation) 60
9 Lauriane Genest (Canada) 53
10 Miriam Vece (Italy) 52
11 Mina Sato (Japan) 47
12 Yuli Paola Verdugo Osuna (Mexico) 43
13 Riyu Ohta (Japan) 37
14 Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands) 34
15 Sophie Capewell (Great Britain) 23
16 Anastasiia Voinova (Russian Federation) 23
17 Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands) 20
18 Daria Shmeleva (Russian Federation) 12

Nine-time World Champion Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) used convincing performances over all four rounds of the inaugural UCI Track Champions League to win the overall Men’s Sprint title on Saturday night in London. Germany’s Stefan Bötticher was the only rider to come close to the Dutcham, securing second overall with 133 points,, 14 back of Lavreysen. Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania) and Mikhail Yakovlev (Russia) scored 72 points in third place.

The decisive final round saw the Lavreysen and Bötticher go through the Keirin heats safely. In the final, Bötticher led the line behind the derny, while Lavreysen sat in fifth position and attacked from the back with one lap to go. In a photo finish at the line, Bötticher took the win by 0.004 seconds over the Dutchman, which tightened the overall standings to just three points.

It came down to a head-to-head battle in the Sprint final. With one lap to go, the sell-out crowd of more than 5,500 spectators drew a collective gasp as Bötticher drew level with Lavreysen. Then the Dutchman turned on the after-burners to take the victory, and the overall title as well.

“I’m really happy with the win. After the first heat, I knew I took the jersey for the overall win and that made it really, really special. And I think I’m unbeaten in two years now in the sprint so I really wanted to keep that streak,” said Lavreysen, who took the men’s Sprint lead on the first round in Mallorca and continued with strong performances in Panevėžys and London.,

“Of course when you’re the World Champion, it’s not like you expect to win but I want to win and I think I feel bad if I don’t win it. Every event that I don’t win, I need to go in with a fresh mind otherwise I make mistakes. I didn’t think a lot about winning before starting this but after this, I’m pretty happy.”

Final Men’s Sprint Standings
1 Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) 147
2 Stefan Botticher (Germany) 133
3 Mikhail Iakovlev (Russian Federation) 72
4 Vasilijus Lendel (Lithuania) 72
5 Jair Tjon en Fa (Suriname) 71
6 Nicholas Paul (Trinidad & Tabago) 71
7 Kevin Santiago Quintero Chavarro (Colombia) 62
8 Rayan Helal (France) 60
9 Denis Dmitriev (Russian Federation) 48
10 Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand) 47
11 Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands) 47
12 Maximilian Levy (Germany) 44
13 Mateusz Rudyk (Poland) 44
14 Hugo Barrette (Canada) 41
15 Tom Derache (France) 40
16 Jordan Castle (New Zealand) 21
17 Kento Yamasaki (Japan) 18
18 Jean Spies (South Africa) 10

Katie Archibald (Great Britain) won the Women’s Endurance title at the inaugural UCI Track Champions League in front of the home crowd on Saturday. The final two of four rounds were held at Lee Valley VeloPark in London. Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) finished 45 points off the sizeable lead of the Briton to take second place overall, while Annette Edmondson (Australia) finished three points ahead of Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) to grab third place.

In the Women’s Scratch race, Archibald attacked with 14 laps to go. Her move caused chaos in the group behind and multiple gaps opened between riders. The main bunch caught her four laps later, giving Spain’s Eukene Larrarte a chance to go with three other riders including Yumi Kajihara of Japan. A half lap lead soon developed before Kajihara attacked from the break. Kajihara continued solo to the finish line as a frantic bunch sprint began behind. Archibald charged ahead to finish second, followed by Coles-Lyster in third and Edmondson in fourth.

Archibald secured her overall victory in the Elimination race, with tension in the race surrounding the final podium spots. Coles-Lyster and Edmondson were eliminated once the race came down to the final six riders. The Briton then won the one-on-one battle versus Wild for the final victory of the track season, and for Wild the second-place finish was the final for her career.

“This title means a big deal, more than that – just how professional it has been, just how much support we’ve had, and the amount of amazing feedback I’ve had. I would have really loved to go to Israel next week. But selfishly, it feels pretty good to do it here in the UK,” said Archibald, who claimed the overall title in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. The fifth round that was scheduled for Israel next weekend was cancelled.

Women’s Endurance Standings – final
1 Katie Archibald (Great Britain) 145
2 Kirsten Wild (Netherlands) 100
3 Annette Edmondson (Australia) 97
4 Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) 94
5 Yumi Kajihara (Japan) 81
6 Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway) 75
7 Olivija Baleisyte (Lithuania) 74
8 Maria Martins (Portugal) 68
9 Silvia Zanardi (Italy) 61
10 Emily Kay (Ireland) 52
11 Hanna Tserakh (Belarus) 40
12 Tania Calvo (Spain) 35
13 Michelle Andres (Switzerland) 31
14 Eukene Larrarte (Spain) 23
15 Karolina Karasiewicz (Poland) 21
16 Kendall Ryan (United States Of America) 19
17 Gulnaz Khatuntseva (Russian Federation) 18
18 Alzbeta Bacikova (Slovakia) 14

American Gavin Hoover emerged as the Men’s Endurance overall winner after the fourth and final round of the inaugural UCI Track Champions League in London on Saturday. He finished fourth in the Elimination race and sixth in the Scratch race to move to the top of the leaderboard with a tally of 107 points.

Sebastian Mora (Spain), who had entered the final round as the leader, finished second with 102 points, and Corbin Strong (New Zealand) was another nine points back for third. Mora saw his lead extinguished when he was relegated to 14th place in the Scratch race, disqualified by the commissaires for dangerous riding after two riders crashed behind.

“I don’t quite believe it. I was just so excited to be here and get the invitation after the World Championships and I thought, no matter what happens, it’s a success. To win, it’s just incredible and at a new series which I hope is the future of track,” Hoover said.

“I definitely didn’t expect it. I thought I could be competitive but I looked at the start list on the day and thought everyone could win so it definitely wasn’t expected.”

Round one of the league began in In Mallorca with Strong taking two wins and taking the early lead. Round two in Lithuania saw Mora take the lead, and hold a slim margin over Hoover after round three, the first of back-to-back nights in London.

Men’s Endurance Standings – final
1 Gavin Hoover (United States Of America) 107
2 Sebastian Mora (Spain) 102
3 Corbin Strong (New Zealand) 93
5 Iuri Leitao (Portugal) 84
4 Aaron Gate (New Zealand) 84
6 Kelland O’Brien (Australia) 74
7 Rhys Britton (Great Britain) 74
8 Roy Eefting (Netherlands) 71
9 Michele Scartezzini (Italy) 62
10 Alan Banaszek (Poland) 56
11 Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) 51
12 Kazushige Kuboki (Japan) 50
13 Erik Martorell Haga (Spain) 37
14 Jules Hesters (Belgium) 17
15 Ed Clancy (Great Britain) 16
16 Rotem Tene (Israel) 13
17 Yacine Chalel (Algeria) 13
18 Tuur Dens (Belgium) 5