The full list of riders taking part in the Men’s and Women’s Endurance competitions at the 2023 UCI Track Champions League has been revealed.
Current Olympic champion and four-time UCI World Champion Matthijs Büchli (Netherlands) is among the 18 riders named on the Men’s Endurance list, joining recently crowned UCI World Champion William Tidball (Great Britain) and former rainbow jersey holders Theo Reinhardt (Germany), Quentin Lafarge (France) and Sebastián Mora (Spain).
Reigning UCI Track Champions League Men’s Endurance Champion Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) is also back to defend his title along with 2021 winner Gavin Hoover (United States).
The 18-rider strong Women’s Endurance list features Olympic and UCI World Champion Katie Archibald (Great Britain) and fellow rainbow jersey holder Neah Evans (Great Britain), who were both announced last month, and that duo are joined by other big names such as two-time European Champion Sophie Lewis (Great Britain) and European Points Race gold medallist Anita Stenberg (Norway).
16 Endurance riders (6 men and 10 women) are set to make their UCI Track Champions League debuts including two-time European U23 Champion Lara Gillespie (Ireland), two-time European Junior Champion Hélène Hesters (Belgium) and three-time Asian Games gold medallist Eyia Hashimoto (Japan).
Riders from 19 countries will be taking part in the Endurance competitions, with athletes from Austria (Maximilian Schmidbauer), Czech Republic (Petra Ševčíková) and Denmark (Amalie Winther Olsen) in action for the very first time. Great Britain, meanwhile, is the most represented nation, with eight riders competing in the Endurance events (Katie Archibald, Neah Evans, Danni Khan, Sophie Lewis, William Perrett, Kate Richardson, Mark Stewart and William Tidball).
The full 36-rider Endurance roster for the UCI Track Champions League is as follows:
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Matthijs Büchli said: “I am looking forward to competing in my second UCI Track Champions League as the Endurance events are short, explosive and fast, which suits my racing style. I feel like I’m stronger this time around as well, and I hope to be in good form as the roster is very impressive. It will be nice to race against the best riders in the world over the five rounds and I hope I can win some races.”
Claudio Imhof said: “I can’t wait to be back racing the UCI Track Champions League, with its incredible music, lightshow, and great supporters. It’s going to be difficult returning as defending champion and I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. Winning last year was one of the highlights of my career so far and the series is definitely taking track cycling to the next level.”
Gavin Hoover said: “I’m really looking forward to being back in the UCI Track Champions League as it’s always a big highlight of the year for me. I won the Men’s Endurance competition in 2021 and I’d like to try and win it again. I’ve had a rough year injury wise but the 2023 season has come at a good time for me, so it’ll be great to get going.”
Sophie Lewis said: “I’m a huge fan of the UCI Track Champions League. I competed in it for the first time last season and found it a lot of fun, racing against a high calibre of athletes, and the racing is certainly unpredictable. I love to travel and race my bike, which the series allows me to do, and as well obviously wanting to win, the back-to-back rounds will allow me to learn a lot. Gaining that experience makes you a better rider and enables you to perform better at other major events such as the UCI World Championships and the Olympic Games.”
Anita Stenberg said: “I’m looking forward to four weeks of good, intensive racing against some of the best Endurance athletes in the world. Last season I just missed out on a podium finish, so I want to achieve that this year, and hopefully win some races along the way. I’m looking forward to feeling the energy from the crowds as well, as this series is brilliant at highlighting how beautiful and exciting track cycling is.”
Amalie Winther Olsen said: “I’ve watched the last two editions of the UCI Track Champions League and can’t wait to be a part of it for the very first time. It’s going to be great to test myself against some of the world’s best riders. I see that as a huge opportunity, not just to prove what I am made of to myself, but to the rest of the world as well. I’ll go all-in at every round because I want to put on a good show for the crowds and become a key part of the UCI Track Champions League family.”
Florian Pavia, Series Director of the UCI Track Champions League, said: “It’s credit to the success of the first two UCI Track Champions League seasons that we’ve been able to amass such a good list of Endurance riders for the 2023 season. The athletes we’ve confirmed are sure to guarantee some spectacular racing across the five rounds and I have no doubt that the competition will be intense.”
RACE CALENDAR:
Round 1: Saturday 21 October, Mallorca / Velòdrom Illes Balears, Spain - Buy tickets
Round 2: Saturday 28 October, Berlin / Berlin Velodrom, Germany - Buy tickets
Round 3: Saturday 4 November, St-Quentin-en-Yvelines / Velodrome National de St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France - Buy tickets
Round 4: Friday 10 November, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK - Buy tickets
Round 5 / Grand Finale: Saturday 11 November, London / Lee Valley VeloPark, UK - SOLD OUT
