The Shanghai Velodrome, located in the Chongming district and home to a UCI World Cycling Centre Continental Development Satellite since 2024, will host the 2026 Tissot UCI Track World Championships from 14 to 18 October. This will be the first edition of the event to be held in mainland China.
More than 399 riders, including reserves, representing 45 nations, are entered in the sprint and endurance events on the programme. Twenty-two UCI World Champion titles will be awarded: 11 in the women’s events and 11 in the men’s. Alongside the sprinters, the endurance specialists will be chasing rainbow jerseys on the same boards.
Daily endurance showdowns:
Fourteen UCI World Champion titles will be decided across the endurance specialities, with finals scheduled as follows:
Wednesday 14 October: women’s scratch
Thursday 15 October: women’s and men’s team pursuit, women’s elimination race and men’s scratch
Friday 16 October: men’s points race and individual pursuit, and women’s omnium
Saturday 17 October: women’s Madison and individual pursuit, and men’s omnium
Sunday 18 October: women’s points race, men’s elimination race and Madison.
Great Britain back to defend their lead
Great Britain were the most successful nation in the endurance events at last year’s UCI Track World Championships, winning four of the 14 titles: the men’s points race (Josh Tarling), the women’s Madison (Madelaine Leech and Katie Archibald), and both the women’s and men’s individual pursuit (Anna Morris and Josh Charlton). Their success came in a year that showed the depth of world-class endurance racing, with riders from nine different countries taking gold.
This year, Team GB are once again looking to leave their mark with a powerful squad that blends experience and youth. Their line-up includes UCI Track World Champions Ethan Vernon (team pursuit 2022, elimination 2023), Oliver Wood (team pursuit 2022), Anna Morris (team pursuit 2023, individual pursuit and team pursuit 2024, individual pursuit 2025), Megan Barker (team pursuit 2023 and 2024) and Josie Knight (team pursuit 2023 and 2024).
Also be on the lookout for senior debutants Henry Hobbs, Erin Boothman and Abigail Miller, who all won gold at last year’s UCI Junior Track World Championships.
Global stars chasing gold
Great Britain will face strong opposition across the programme. In the men’s team pursuit, Denmark will aim to extend their dominance in an event they won in 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Tobias Hansen, Frederik Madsen and Rasmus Pedersen return from last year’s title-winning squad, alongside Carl-Frederik Bévort. The Danish quartet also arrive in Shanghai as world record holders, having become the first team to break the 3'40'’ barrier with a time of 3'39'’977 at the UEC European Track Championships in February.
The United States will also be among the nations looking to challenge Great Britain, with a squad that includes one of the most notable comebacks of the season. Taylor Phinney, winner of the individual pursuit at the UCI Track World Championships in 2009 and 2010, came out of retirement earlier this year with his sights set on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In Shanghai, the 36-year-old will race the team pursuit. Also in the USA’s endurance squad is Ashlin Barry, who won the Men Under 23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal last month, on his 19th birthday.
Not to be forgotten are Italy, particularly in the pursuit events. Jonathan Milan leads the men’s squad, having set the individual pursuit world record of 3'59'’153 on his way to the title at the 2024 UCI Track World Championships. He is joined by Filippo Ganna, the most successful rider in the event’s history, with six titles between 2016 and 2023. On the women’s side, Martina Alzini, Vittoria Guazzini and Martina Fidanza return to defend their team pursuit title from Santiago, this time alongside Elisa Balsamo, who helped Italy win the event in 2022.
Several other defending UCI World Champions will also be on the start list, including Mexico’s Yareli Acevedo (points race), the Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes (scratch and omnium), Germany’s Moritz Augenstein (scratch), and Belgium’s Lindsay De Vylder and Fabio Van Den Bossche (Madison).