STARS OF TRACK CYCLING RETURN TO WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY SCREENS THIS WINTER
9 November 2022 – Paris, France: The glitz and glamour of the UCI Track Champions League returns with four weeks of wheel-to-wheel action inside the best velodromes in some of Europe’s most iconic cities – with every moment live across Warner Bros. Discovery sports, entertainment, and free-to-air platforms.
The five-round championship, promoted by Discovery Sports Events, which seeks to re-imagine the way track cycling is enjoyed by fans watching in-stadia or at home, starts on Saturday with the opening round in Mallorca.
Then, for the first time, the UCI Track Champions League heads to Berlin (19 November) and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Paris (26 November) before reaching a climax with the double-header at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London (2-3 December).
You can buy tickets for the Mallorca, Berlin, Saint-Quentin-En-Yvelines and London rounds NOW.
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Worldwide coverage will see the UCI Track Champions League broadcast live on discovery+*, GCN+ (globally), the Eurosport App, as well as on Eurosport 1.
Warner Bros. Discovery will also harness its free-to-air and entertainment channels in Europe to ensure the UCI Track Champions League reaches the widest possible audiences. Quest (UK), Kanal 9 (Sweden), 6’eren (Denmark), Max (Norway) and Kutonen (Finland) will show the best of the action with highlights shows after each round while Germany’s free-to-air Eurosport 1 channel will broadcast live coverage of each round.
For each round of this year’s UCI Track Champions League, Warner Bros. Discovery’s coverage will begin with 30-minute preview shows as excitement builds ahead of the evening’s action with 30 minutes of analysis and rider interviews rounding off each broadcast after the live track cycling.
Scott Young, SVP Content and Production at Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “We are committed to telling the stories of men’s and women’s track cycling athletes all year-round as part of our ambition to develop greater awareness of the sport between Olympic cycles while helping it to grow and reach new audiences.
“By showing every race live across the full breadth of our channels and platforms, including uninterrupted streaming and broad free-to-air coverage, we will scale the UCI Track Champions League to millions of viewers while bringing stories from the series to life. This coupled with exciting new innovations, including the unveiling of our very first metaverse experience for fans for the London rounds, will provide new opportunities to interact with the series and supercharge engagement in track cycling.”
Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Bradley Wiggins – who have an incredible nine Olympic track cycling gold medals between them – will both offer their expertise for fans watching across the globe while also speaking to some of the key protagonists from the infield throughout the evening of racing. Former professional cyclist Adam Blythe will also be on-site at each event while Orla Chennaoui will be lead presenter for coverage broadcast in the United Kingdom. Cycling legend Alberto Contador, meanwhile, will be part of Eurosport Spain’s coverage of the opening round of the season in Mallorca.
Live coverage of the UCI Track Champions League will be complemented by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ digital platforms. Eurosport.com will publish live blogs from each round and provide more best-in-class analysis for visitors with GCN+ appealing to cycling super fans who will be able to consume the action in greater depth – from data to analysis, tactics to the equipment used – every angle will be covered.
Emma Hinze (Germany) and Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) won the women’s and men’s Sprint 12 months ago and Katie Archibald (Great Britain) and Gavin Hoover (USA) were the maiden winners of the Endurance category, beating off competition from some of the best riders in the world to take the honours. Lavreysen, Archibald and Hoover are confirmed to return in 2022 and will be back on the bike for the second season of the UCI Track Champions League looking to defend their titles.
Details on the 36 riders who will be taking part in the Endurance events can be found HERE, and details of the 36 riders who will be taking part in the Sprint events can be found HERE.
Furthermore, fans can watch all five episodes of Back on Track, the in-depth, behind-the-scenes documentary series following riders throughout the 2021 campaign, on discovery+*, GCN+ and Eurosport App with all episodes broadcast back-to-back on Eurosport on Saturday 12 November ahead of the first round in Mallorca.
Back on Track lifts the lid on the action, rivalries, and drama from the inaugural season of this innovative cycling league. Following the best track cyclists in the world, the documentary enables viewers to get to know the riders, experiencing their highs and lows as they compete at the very highest level of international competition.
UCI TRACK CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, A MILESTONE FOR TRACK CYCLING
The first season of the UCI Track Champions League in 2021 proved an unbridled success, achieving its mission of elevating track cycling to a new level and becoming a key fixture on the world cycling calendar.
The series reached 149 million viewers across Warner Bros. Discovery’s network (comprising discovery+, Eurosport and GCN+) alone, with 26 additional broadcast partners ensuring it was screened in 206 countries across the globe.
The competition format has been specifically designed to deliver quickfire, enthralling, and easy-to-understand racing, with a wealth of live rider data on the official UCI Track Champions League app helping to provide an unrivalled viewing experience.
Fans can watch every round from the second season of the UCI Track Champions League on Warner Bros. Discovery Sports’ platforms including discovery+, Eurosport and GCN+. Coverage of the first round starts at 19:00 CET.
RACE CALENDAR:
Round 1: Saturday 12 November, 19:00 CET, Mallorca / Velòdrom Illes Balears, Spain
Information here
Round 2: Saturday 19 November, 19:00 CET, Berlin / Berlin Velodrom, Germany
Information here
Round 3: Saturday 26 November, 19:00 CET, St-Quentin-En-Yvelines / Velodrome National de St-Quentin-En-Yvelines, France
Information here
Round 4: Friday 2 December, 20:00 CET, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK
Information here
Round 5: Saturday 3 December, 20:00 CET, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK
Information here
For more information on the UCI Track Champions League, visit ucitrackchampionsleague.com
*Streaming is available on discovery+ in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Ireland.
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Never miss a moment of the new UCI Track Champions League competition with the Official App and get a unique and immersive experience. The app will take you right to the heart of the action in real-time and provide unique insights into the world’s best track cyclists.
