Emma Finucane leads the British charge as UCI Track Champions League gears up for Grand Finale

Great Britain’s Emma Finucane led the charge for the home nation as the UCI Track Champions League returned to the Lee Valley VeloPark, London for a final double-header to decide this season’s titles. After another spectacular year of racing in the UCI Track Champions League, the series will reach its climax in front of a sell-out crowd tomorrow night, when the 2024 winners will be crowned. 

There was no change at the top of the standings on Friday as Katie Archibald (Great Britain), Dylan Bibic (Canada), Harrie Lavreysen (the Netherlands) and Alina Lysenko all defended their leads, but with the UCI Track Champions League, the fight for the title truly isn’t over until the final race is won. 

Women’s Endurance leader Katie Archibald had a mixed night, finishing second in the Scratch race but knocked out comparatively early in the Elimination, coming ninth. She remains in the lead with only one round to go, 26 points ahead of Sarah van Dam (Canada) and 30 ahead of Anita Stenberg (Norway), who soared up the rankings to third with victory in the Scratch race. Ireland’s Lara Gillespie was another to climb the ranks thanks to a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat win in the Elimination, her second in the UCI Track Champions League. 

Men’s Endurance leader Dylan Bibic had a similarly mixed night but ended on a high, going from 10th place in the Scratch to once again running away with victory in the Elimination. He extended his lead to 17 points clear of nearest challenger Tobias Aagard Hansen (Denmark), but there’s still time for the rainbow jersey to overhaul him in tomorrow night’s Grand Finale. Peter Moore (USA) had another strong night, doubling up on Scratch race wins after victory in Round 3.  

Women’s Sprint leader Alina Lysenko suffered one of the shocks of the night as she was knocked out in the Sprint heats. But the young leader wouldn’t stay down for long, roaring back to win the Women’s Keirin at the expense of home favourite Emma Finucane. UCI World Sprint Champion Finucane still had a brilliant night, winning the Sprint final to climb back up the standings to third overall.  

Matthew Richardson enjoyed a rousing reception as he competed in Great Britain colours in front of a home crowd for the first time. While he couldn’t replicate the heights of his maximum-points Round 1 showing in Paris, a second place in the Sprint and third in the Keirin ensured he remained in touch with league leader Harrie Lavreysen (the Netherlands), who won both races in dominant fashion. 

HOW THE ACTION UNFOLDED 

The packed crowd were treated to a brilliant start to the medal events, as London-raised Lucy Bénézet Minns, Lara Gillespie (both representing Ireland) and Yareli Acevedo (Mexico) made a dash for glory halfway through the Women’s Scratch race. The trio worked well together but Neah Evans (Great Britain) and Katie Archibald put the kibosh on their breakaway, reeling them in with three laps to go. Archibald led out the final sprint, but Anita Stenberg timed her move to perfection, watching, waiting, and just edging ahead of her down the home straight to take the win, with Cybèle Schneider (Switzerland) third.  

The Men’s Scratch was another thriller, with Philip Heijnen (the Netherlands) taking advantage of hesitation in the bunch by attacking with 11 laps to go. He was joined by four others as the laps ticked down, with Dylan Bibic among those caught out in the second group. Peter Moore came out on top, nicking the win in the closing moments and going back-to-back in Scratch races after last Saturday’s triumph in Apeldoorn. Alex Vogel (Switzerland) took second, with Philip Heijnen rewarded for his efforts with third. Dylan Bibic finished down in 10th. 

The home crowd worked their magic in the Women’s Sprint as all three British riders – Emma Finucane, Katy Marchant, and Sophie Capewell – won their heats, Capewell producing the upset of the night so far by knocking out runaway series leader Alina Lysenko.  

The final came down to another classic between Olympic champion Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand) and UCI World Champion Emma Finucane. It was a slow start, with Finucane leading from the front, and although Andrews looked close at points she ultimately left it too late, leaving the Brit to soak up the roars of applause. 

There was to be no British sprint double as Harrie Lavreysen extended his overall lead by soundly beating Matthew Richardson in the Men’s Sprint final. In another clash between the two best in the world, Richardson drew position 1, but once Lavreysen rolled past him the Brit had too much ground to make up. His Dutch rival cleverly pinned him further up the track and – despite a spirited Richardson charge in the final few metres – it was a clear win for the blue jersey. 

The shocks continued as Women’s Endurance leader Katie Archibald finished ninth in the Elimination race, a discipline she normally cruises through, as she was caught out of position at the bottom of the track. Major rivals Anita Stenberg and Sarah van Dam piled the pressure on, finishing third and second respectively. But it was Lara Gillespie who took the win, outgunning van Dam with a gutsy final lap – despite repeatedly looking at risk of elimination.  

The Lee Valley crowd were kept on their toes by a tense, tight Men’s Elimination race, with Will Perrett (Great Britain) – winner of this race in Round 1 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (Paris, France) – making a shock early exit just four laps in. But at the business end of proceedings, it was the usual names making their presence felt. Dylan Bibic triumphed, finishing miles clear of Lindsay de Vylder (Belgium) in the final lap, while Blake Agnoletto (Australia) finished third for an impressive third straight Elimination race. Bibic’s nearest overall rival, UCI Elimination World Champion Tobias Aagard Hansen, was fourth. 

Despite the late finish of tonight’s racing the crowd were pumped up throughout, and the cheers were deafening as Emma Finucane led out the Women’s Keirin final. She looked to be flying but it was heartbreak for the Brit and the home crowd as series leader Alina Lysenko rounded her in the closing few metres for her sixth win in eight events this season. Martha Bayona (Colombia) recovered from her surprise exit in the Sprint heats to finish third, maintaining second place overall. 

The Men’s Keirin was another Harrie Lavreysen masterclass, but in a surprise twist, it wasn’t a Lavreysen-Richardson one-two. Richardson tried to edge out Lavreysen but ended up boxed in towards the back, with miles of track to make up. And Cristian Ortega (Colombia) was quick to take advantage, surging up to keep pace with a rapidly accelerating Lavreysen and holding on for second. Richardson looked down and out with a lap to go but recovered to finish third.

ALL THE REACTION FROM ROUND 4  

Women's Endurance leader and Scratch runner-up Katie Archibald said: “I guess I let somebody else decide my [Elimination] race for me, which isn’t the best idea! I tried to force my way out forwards and it didn’t happen, and I should have adjusted quicker. It’s not a nice lesson to learn but it’s one I’ll remember. I think I’ll always be nervous for a Scratch race; I actually feel more in control with the Elimination – with the right mentality you can get the best result you’re capable of. The Scratch race tomorrow will be the most nervous for me because it can go wrong so easily, so I’ll see how that goes, and hopefully that can settle me for one big final race.” 

Men’s Endurance leader and Elimination race winner Dylan Bibic said: “It’d be great [to win the overall title], I’d be in the list of some of the greatest in the sport – it’s amazing. As long as I don’t make any huge mistakes [tomorrow night] it’s over. Once [Tobias Aagard Hansen] got out with four to go in the Elimination I knew I had to win and that would be checkmate, almost. The Elimination is 100% skill, you can’t get marked, all you have to do is not get out! Consistency [is how to win the overall], and it’s important to get wins, too. Getting three wins like I have so far puts me in a great place.”

Women’s Sprint leader and Keirin race winner Alina Lysenko said: "I won’t try to predict how things will go tomorrow; I’ll just do my best. It’s been really tough for me, and it showed today. Competing in front of such a huge crowd is overwhelming, as I’ve never raced with so many spectators. I can see that everyone is here to support their own athletes, and no one really knows me. The other athletes have been competing together for years, and this is only my second time. It’s a challenge. When I arrived in London, I fell seriously ill and spent time in bed with a fever. That affected me physically and mentally. I know there’s extra attention on me because I’m wearing the leader's jersey, and I’m not used to it. But I really want to push through and hope I can overcome this.” 

Men’s Sprint leader and Sprint and Keirin winner Harrie Lavreysen said: “I feel really good, it’s amazing, winning twice. I feel better every round - in Paris it was really hard, Apeldoorn I felt better, and today I felt really strong. The keirin was really hard, starting in position five, it was really technical so really happy I could win it. It would be crazy to win the title – today I won the Vélo d’Or, which is already a very good prize! I’m 13 points ahead, I didn’t expect it last week. I need to focus tomorrow on recovering well.”

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS, POWERED BY AWS 

Harrie Lavreysen confirmed he has the edge on his rivals with his first “perfect night” of the season, winning both the Sprint and the Keirin like he did on three occasions in previous editions of the UCI Track Champions League. The Dutchman hit 2,093 watts in the Sprint final and smashed the competition in the Keirin with 2,216 watts, his best performance of the season. A staple of the series since its inception, Lavreysen has now won 58% of the races contested in the Men’s Sprint League (21/36). Matthew Richardson has a ratio of 38% (10/26). 

The first races of the night showed that British riders were ready to fire on all cylinders in front of their home crowd, with Sophie Capewell hitting 1,603 watts in the Sprint heats – the second-highest power recorded in the Women’s Sprint League this season, after the 1,640 watts she pushed in Apeldoorn (Round 2). It was then up to her teammate Emma Finucane to power to her second victory of the season. She then came second in the keirin, matching her best night in the 2024 UCI Track Champions League with 37 points, like in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines a couple of weeks ago.

After he had to settle for 10th in the Scratch, Dylan Bibic flexed his muscles to take victory in the Elimination, with a maximum heart rate of 194 beats per minute and a peak power of 1,510 watts to obliterate Lindsay De Vylder's 1,347 watts in the final sprint. The Men’s Endurance League saw changes at the top of the standings on the final night both in 2021 and 2022… but Bibic was untouchable last year and he heads to the Grand Finale well on course to achieve the best season ever in the Men’s Endurance League, with an average of 15 points per race (vs 13.4 for Gavin Hoover in 2024). 

Anita Stenberg had the best night in the Women’s Endurance League, making the most of her experience and physical abilities to get the better of Katie Archibald in the Scratch and claim third in the Elimination. The Norwegian star even pushed her limits, setting a new personal best this season with a heart rate up to 199 beats per minute in the sprint against her British rival. After such a strong effort, she was still able to go up to 189 bpm in the Elimination, won by Lara Gillespie with a 201-bpm effort.

The UCI Track Champions League comes to an end tomorrow night at the sold-out Grand Finale, also at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London, UK. The Grand Finale, Round 5, will bring the curtain down on this year’s series and see another four riders lift the glittering UCI Track Champions League trophies.