The Lee Valley VeloPark in London is set to host the action on Friday and Saturday night, each round starting at 19:00 GMT (20:00 CET).
Key event information including start lists, broadcast partners, the race program and more.
The 2022 season is still all to play for as we head into the final two rounds of action in London on 2-3 December.
Round 3 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines saw yet another change at the top of the Women’s Sprint standings, with Mathilde Gros (France) taking the blue jersey and opening up a nine-point lead over Martha Bayona (Colombia).
In the Women’s Endurance league, reigning champion Katie Archibald (Great Britain) is now just one point behind current leader Jennifer Valente (United States) after coming second in the Scratch and taking another win in the Elimination race.
Switzerland’s Claudio Imhof meanwhile, proved consistency is key in the Men’s Endurance standings, with his 32-point haul in France moving him into blue for the first time, where he currently holds a six-point lead over Mathias Guillemette (Canada).
The Men’s Sprint League is also shaping up for a battle royale between Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) and Matthew Richardson (Australia). Just two points separate that duo after Lavreysen beat Richardson in the Sprint final, only for the tables to be turned in the Keirin, where Richardson beat Lavreysen to victory in the Kierin.
Eight riders from Great Britain will be competing in London – Katie Archibald, Dame Laura Kenny, Mark Stewart, Will Perrett, Oliver Wood, Emma Finucane, Sophie Lewis and Hamish Turnbull – and each of them will be desperate to impress in front of their home crowd. Sophie Capewell is the only absentee after she was forced to abandon the series through injury.
Click HERE to read about how Round 3 of the UCI Track Champions League played out.
Here is all the key information heading into Round 4 & 5:
RIDERS TO WATCH
Katie Archibald (Great Britain) – Following an unsettled start in Mallorca, where she won the Scratch but was then the first rider out in the Elimination, Archibald has been on fire, winning both races in Berlin, and notching up 32 out of a possible 34 points in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The 28 year old will be looking to continue her remarkable return to form in London and defend the title she won in equally impressive style last season.
Matthew Richardson (Australia) – Richardson has proven himself to be a revelation in the Men’s Sprint so far this season. He’s also provided current leader Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) with some enormous competition, with the rivalry forming right from Round 1. As the series heads into its grand finale in London, Richardson will push himself to the limit, aiming to topple the 11-time UCI World Champion in his very first season.
Martha Bayona (Colombia) – The Colombian rider won’t have been happy to have been knocked off the top of the Women’s Sprint standings last weekend. Heading into London, she will be looking to outpace Mathilde Gros to reclaim her lead, all whilst holding off challenges from the likes of Kelsey Mitchell and Shanne Braspennincx.
Mark Stewart (Great Britain) – The Great British newcomer started strongly, winning the Scratch in Mallorca, and has continued to perform consistently over the subsequent two rounds. Currently sitting fourth in the Men’s Endurance standings, Stewart will have full support from the home crowd in London. Can he challenge the likes of Claudio Imhof, Mathias Guillemette and Sebastián Mora for the Men’s Endurance title?
Click HERE for the full list of riders who will be competing in the 2022 UCI Track Champions League.
QUOTES
Men’s Sprint leader Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) said: “In the last three rounds I think I’ve performed better than I did last year, but I’m also not surprised by the form of Matthew Richardson. I expect he’ll perform well this weekend, and with only two points between us, and two rounds back-to-back, it’s going to be really hard. I hope to keep my consistency as we go into London and have enough points to win the league. I’m looking forward to it.”
Women’s Sprint leader Mathilde Gros said: “I’m really happy to be going to London at the top of the league. I remember how incredible it was last year, the fans went crazy. I’m very excited to race at the Lee Valley VeloPark again, but I think I will have to battle hard this weekend, there are some really strong riders. I’m really excited to see how the end result plays out.”
Men’s Endurance leader Claudio Imhof said: “My goal has been to win one race, which hasn’t happened yet. However, I have gained a lot of race experience throughout the UCI Track Champions League, having been off the track for a long time after an accident. I didn’t expect to be this consistent across this series, but it’s really great to be in this position heading into the final in London. The next races are going to be very hard, but I will try to defend my lead as best as I can.”
Women’s Endurance leader Jennifer Valente said: “I did not expect to be heading into the grand finale in the leading jersey. The UCI Track Champions League has been such a tough competition with a lot of really good racing, but as we go into the final rounds in London , I’m going to continue to perform as consistently as possible and see where that lands me.”
Francois Ribeiro, Head of Discovery Sports Events, said: “As we reach the Grand Finale of the 2022 UCI Track Champions League, the action is tantalizingly poised and we couldn’t have wished for a more exciting conclusion – all four titles still to fight for. Various battles are going to be played out over the next two rounds, and they’re going to do so in front of two packed crowds inside the Lee Valley VeloPark. I can’t wait to see how things turn out.”
A full recording of the Round 4 & 5 Preview Press Conference is available HERE .
RACE PROGRAM
The televised race schedule is as follows:
Round 4
18:55 GMT: Live broadcast starts
Sprint / Women / First Round
Keirin / Men / First Round
Scratch / Men
Sprint / Women / Semi Finals
Keirin / Men / Final
Scratch / Women
Sprint / Women / Final
Sprint / Men / First Round
Elimination / Men
Keirin / Women / First Round
Sprint / Men / Semi-Finals
Elimination / Women
Keirin / Women / Final
Sprint / Men / Final
22:20 GMT: Live broadcast ends
Round 5
18:55 GMT: Live broadcast starts
Sprint / Men / First Round
Keirin / Women / First Round
Scratch / Women
Sprint / Men / Semi Finals
Keirin / Women / Final
Scratch / Men
Sprint / Men / Final
Sprint / Women / First Round
Elimination / Women
Keirin / Men / First Round
Sprint / Sprint / Semi-Finals
Elimination / Men
Keirin / Men / Final
Sprint / Women / Final
22:20 GMT: Live broadcast ends
WHERE TO WATCH
Every round of the UCI Track Champions league is broadcast live on discovery+*, GCN+ (globally), the Eurosport App, as well as on Eurosport 1.
Saturday’s coverage starts from 18:30 GMT with a 30-minute preview show. Live coverage is then broadcast between 19:00-22:00 GMT and is followed by a 30-minute post-race show featuring highlights and expert analysis.
The action will also be broadcast across the globe on the following 14 channels:
CBC (Canada), Claro (LATAM), ERT (Greece), Speed Channel (Japan), RAI (Italy), RTBF (Belgium), RTL7 (Netherlands), RTVE / Teledeporte (Spain), SBS (Australia), SRG (Switzerland), SuperSport (Africa Sub-Sahara), Zhibo.tv (China), Match TV (Russia), Señal Colombia (Colombia).
Highlights will also be broadcast on Quest (UK), Kanal 9 (Sweden), 6’eren (Denmark), Max (Norway) and Kutonen (Finland).
LIVE DATA AND EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE FOR THE FANS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE OFFICIAL APP POWERED BY AWS
After a successful launch for the first season, fans are back on track in 2022 thanks to the official UCI Track Champions League app, powered by AWS.. During every round, a whole host of real-time telemetry data from the riders’ performances – power, speed, heart rate and cadence – will be available at the click of a button. If all that wasn’t enough, a brand-new feature for this year allows users to access live onboard camera feeds to follow the riders even closer during the competition and enjoy an even deeper immersive experience.
Fans can also take an in-depth look at the riders’ average and maximum data, comparing between different riders as they do so, and push the ‘Feel Heartbeat’ button, which allows them to feel the live heartbeat of any given athlete at any moment in their hand using their smartphone’s vibrate function.
Finally, users can also ensure they never miss a moment of the fast-paced racing action courtesy of push notification reminders delivered when their favorite rider is on track, or when a particular race is about to start.
The official UCI Track Champions League app is available to download for free on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
ABOUT LEE VALLEY VELOPARK
Situated in Stratford, East London, on the site of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the Lee Valley VeloPark is home to the world-class Lee Valley Olympic Velodrome. Designed by Ron Webb, who has also designed the velodromes for the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games, the 250m track is made using Siberian Pine and is one of the fastest tracks in the world.
Inaugurated in 2011 ahead of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the award-winning velodrome opened to the public in March 2014. Since its opening, it’s seen the likes of Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Sarah Storey secure record numbers of medals at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and in 2016 the velodrome staged the UCI Track World Championships.
Rounds 4 and 5 will see a packed crowd supporting the riders and filling the velodrome’s seated capacity of 6000. With Saturday 3rd officially sold out, there are limited tickets left for fans to watch the racing on Friday 2nd. Fans can buy tickets for the London rounds HERE.
THE SPORTING FORMAT
The UCI Track Champions League is a league format where every round features the same race programme. Riders score points across the five rounds in either the Sprint or Endurance category.
Each category has two different types of races in which competitors can accumulate points: Sprinters will race in both Sprint and Keirin while Endurance riders will race both Elimination and Scratch.
18 riders can take part in each category, totalling 72 riders — equal numbers male and female.
The Sprint Category races:
Sprint: The Sprint race will see the first rider to cross the finish line after three laps of the track win. The first round will comprise six heats of three riders going head-to-head, with the six winners progressing on to the semifinals. Two heats of three riders will then determine the final two competitors to go for the win.
Keirin: The Keirin race is a massed start sprint over five laps. The first two laps of the track will be behind a Derny motorcycle to set the pace, leaving riders to sprint to the finish over the remaining three. Six riders will take part in three heats, with the top two riders qualifying for the final. In the final, six riders will compete for victory.
The Endurance category races:
Elimination: In the Elimination race the last rider across the finish line in every other lap will be eliminated from the race. The first lap will be a neutral lap and all 18 riders take part from the off.
Scratch: The classic Scratch race will be contested over a relatively short distance of 5 km to see the high-speed action start from the gun. All 18 will be vying for a podium position over 20 laps of the 250m track.
POINTS AND RIDERS RANKINGS
Rankings within the UCI Track Champions League will be determined by points allocated to riders from their performance in each race. Points will accrue in a ranking table and the overall winner in each of the categories will be the rider with the most points at the end of the series.
At the end of each round the current leader will be awarded the UCI Track Champions League leader’s jersey to wear at the next round.
REMAINING RACE CALENDAR:
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
You can also buy tickets for the London rounds NOW.
