Emma Finucane, Katy Marchant and Kelsey Mitchell to head up sprint field at UCI Track Champions League

Great Britain’s Katy Marchant and Emma Finucane will compete against Olympic champion Kelsey Mitchell in a star-studded sprint field at the 2023 UCI Track Champions League.

Mitchell (Canada) is among the 18 riders named on the women’s sprint list, joining fellow Olympic medallists Lauriane Genest (Canada) and Marchant (Great Britain) and current European champion Alessa-Catriona Propster(Germany).

The quartet will be joined by recently-crowned world champions Finucane (Great Britain) and Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand).

Mitchell said: “I’m delighted to be on the roster for the third season of the UCI Track Champions League and the excitement around it is just incredible.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where I’m at with my form because it’s been a rollercoaster year so far. For me, the best training is racing, and the calibre of rider I’ll be up against this year is very high. I want to do my best and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

The 18-rider strong men’s sprint list features European champion Timothy van Loon (Netherlands) and former European gold medallists Mateusz Rudyk (Poland) and Melvin Landerneau (France), with two-time Olympic and 13-time world champion Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands), fellow rainbow jersey holder Kevin Quintero (Colombia) and defending UCI Track Champions League men’s sprint champion Matthew Richardson (Australia) previously confirmed.

Van Loon said: “I’m really excited for the 2023 season, competing in the UCI Track Champions League for the very first time and experiencing its unique race format.

“The series is one of the last chances we’ll have to race repeatedly, in such a short period of time, before the Olympics, and it’s all about gaining that experience. My goal is to be as consistent as possible, as that seems to be key in doing well over the entire series.”

Of the 36 sprint riders, 19 (nine men and 10 women) will be making their UCI Track Champions League debuts.

Athletes from 20 countries will be taking part in the sprint competitions, with athletes from China (Wang Lijuan) and Taiwan (Nien Hsing Hsieh) making their debuts. Great Britain, meanwhile, is the most represented nation, with six riders competing in the sprint events (Sophie Capewell, Finucane, Marchant, Ellie Stone, Lowri Thomas and Joseph Truman).

The first event of the 2023 UCI Track Champions League takes place in Mallorca, Spain on Saturday, October 21 and will be shown live on Eurosport and discovery+.

The full 36-rider sprint roster for the UCI Track Champions League is as follows:

Florian Pavia, series director of the UCI Track Champions League, said: “It’s very exciting for us to confirm the full list of riders who will be competing at the 2023 UCI Track Champions League. This sprint line-up definitely complements the world-class roster of endurance athletes that will also be in action.

“Securing such a global field of male and female talent is amazing to see and I’m sure it’s going to guarantee five rounds of exciting, dramatic and hotly contested racing.”

Round 1: Saturday October 21, Mallorca / Velòdrom Illes Balears, Spain

Round 2: Saturday October 28, Berlin / Berlin Velodrom, Germany

Round 3: Saturday November 4, St-Quentin-en-Yvelines / Velodrome National de St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France

Round 4: Friday November 10, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK

Round 5 / Grand Finale: Saturday November 11, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK