UCI Track Cycling World Championships: Dates, events, riders to watch and more

After two successive years in France, the UCI Track Cycling World Championships will take place in Scotland in 2023.

This year, it is being held as part of the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, which are to be held every four years in the year preceding the Olympic Games.

There is the added incentive this year of Paris 2024 qualifying ranking points being on offer.

Here is all you need to know about the action on the track this summer.

The UCI Track Cycling World Championships take place from August 3 to August 9, 2023.

All of the action will take place at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow.

There are 11 events being contested across the Championships. They are:

• Sprint – one-on-one duels of pure power.

• Team Sprint – Racing in trios, riders sprint for one lap before peeling off. When the last rider crosses the line, the team has set their time.

• Time Trial – Riders complete a set distance (1km for men, 500m for women) as quick as they can.

• Keirin – Competitors follow the slipstream of a motorbike for 750m, before the ‘derny’ peels away and leaves the riders to sprint to the finish.

• Individual Pursuit – Two riders start on opposite sides of the track and chase each other. Tom and Jerry but on bikes.

• Team Pursuit – Two teams of four riders start on opposite sides of the track and chase each other. Four Toms. Four Jerrys.

• Points Race – Men ride 160 laps and women ride 100 with points being collected during sprint laps which occur every ten laps.

• Madison – Teams of two riders take turns to race in a relay with points collected on the sprint laps.

• Scratch – Solo riders. First over the line wins. Simple.

• Omnium – Riders take part in scratch, tempo, elimination and points races on the same day.

• Elimination – Riders sprint every two laps. Person over the line last during the sprint lap is eliminated.

The Olympic champion is the undisputed king of sprinting and the Dutchman is going for a fifth consecutive individual world sprint title.

British hopes rest with the Tokyo 2020 sprint bronze medallist, who has six medals to his name at global level, but is yet to take gold.

The German is on a mission as she looks to regain her sprint world title from Mathilde Gros.

China won the women’s team sprint at the Track Nations Cup in Cairo in March 2023 and have Olympic gold medal winner Bao Shanju in their ranks.

He is hoping to complete a hat-trick of omnium world title for Great Britain with victory in Glasgow.

Leading the home team’s endurance hopes, Archibald is in form after three gold medals (omnium, team pursuit, madison) at the European Championship in February 2023.