From Hong Kong, China, to Nilai, Malaysia, the stars of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup continue their journey, building on Round 2 as they gear up for the decisive final battles of the series. Their performances will not only decide the overall winners, but also shape the hierarchy among nations vying for qualification quotas for the 2026 Tissot UCI Track World Championships (Shanghai, China) in October.
As the final three days of competition (24–26 April) approach, Australia remain the favourites, although strong performances from China and Japan mean the battle is still wide open.
A packed schedule to cap off the series
The action in Nilai will follow the same schedule as in the first two rounds of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup, with 14 events (seven for women and seven for men) contested over three days of intense competition at the Velodrom Nasional Malaysia.
Local crowds and fans around the world will be able to watch finals each day: the elimination race, team pursuit, and team sprint for both Men and Women on Friday; the Women Madison, Women individual sprint, Men keirin and Men omnium on Saturday; and the Men Madison, Men individual sprint, Women keirin and Women omnium on Sunday.
The Velodrom Nasional Malaysia can accommodate some 2,000 spectators, who will witness the action culminating in the final winners being crowned at approximately 8pm local time on the last day. Fans around the globe will again be able to follow the racing thanks to the expertise and international network of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports.
Japan and China lead the charge
Having hosted the 2023 and 2025 editions of the Asian Track Cycling Championships, Nilai provides a familiar setting for Japan, who field a squad brimming with talent. The team includes athletes who won gold medals on those occasions, including Naoki Kojima, Maho Kakita, Mizuki Ikeda and Yumi Kajihara (a former UCI World Cycling Centre trainee). Rising stars like Kanta Umezawa (winner of the points race at the 2026 Asian Championships) further strengthen a squad aiming for the overall victory.
However, China are also expected to deliver a strong performance after their recent haul at the 2026 Asian Track Cycling Championships (late March in Tagaytay, Philippines), where Xie Han, Zhiheng Jin, Li Zhiwei, Ruiting Huang, Zhengyu Pei, Junjie Wu, Wentao Sun, Haijiao Sun, Xuehuang Luo, Liying Yuan, Lijuan Wang, Suwan Wei, Ning Chen, Xianbing Gong and Xiaoyue Wang all claimed gold medals. Within this group, Yuan also triumphed in Nilai in 2023 and has been one of the standout performers of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup so far, excelling in both individual and team sprint events.
The Chinese won the Women team sprint in Perth and Hong Kong, and are the only contenders in a position to dominate a specialty across all three rounds, with Matthew Richardson (two-time winner of the Men sprint) not racing this weekend.
Germany will be relying on the return of Moritz Augenstein and Roger Kluge to climb the rankings. The New Zealand men’s and women’s pursuit teams dominated both events in Round 2, while riders such as Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands), Anita Yvonne Stenberg (Norway), Yareli Acevedo (Mexico), and Matteo Fiorin (Italy) will also look to build on previous success as they head into the final round of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup.