Marking the official start of track cycling’s qualification period for the LA 2028 Olympic Games, the UCI Track World Championships 2026 are shaping up to be an incredible showcase of speed, endurance, and cycling skill.
Riders will vie for 22 world titles – 11 per gender – at recently constructed Shanghai Velodrome from 14-18 October, with the six Olympic events in both genders offering a massive haul ranking points towards the UCI Track Olympic Qualification Ranking.
Expect tight battles across the keirin, madison, omnium, sprint, team pursuit and team sprint, with many road cycling stars swapping the open road for wooden boards in a bid to extend their domain and challenge track cycling’s top specialists for valuable points.
More than 300 cyclists are expected to ride at track cycling’s annual showpiece competition, with five-time Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen and three-time Olympic medallist Emma Finucane set to headline the men’s and women’s sprint events.
Lavreysen will aim to assert his dominance over the individual sprint once more – having won every world title since 2019 – while Finucane, buoyed by an impressive haul of five gold medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, will attempt to reclaim the title she ceded last year.
Spain’s Albert Torres (men’s omnium), Japan’s Sato Mina (women’s keirin) and Dutch duo Hetty van de Wouw (women’s sprint) and Lorena Wiebes (women’s omnium) will also seek to defend the rainbow jerseys they claimed in Santiago, Chile at Velódromo Peñalolén 12 months ago.
But with this much talent under one roof, there’s bound to be a few surprises when action commences in the Magic City on Wednesday, 14 October. Scroll down to view the full schedule, all results and how to watch the 2026 UCI Track World Championships live.
- On track for gold: Mariana Pajón happy to have “reinvented” herself with victorious switch from BMX
- Commonwealth Games 2026: Emma Finucane relishing every second of wearing Wales’ colours
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/uci-track-world-championships-2026-stars-schedule-results
