The Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships head to Beijing, China, on Saturday 17 October 2026. The world’s best pump track riders will battle it out at a brand-new venue in Mentougou, located in the mountainous west of the Chinese capital.
This is the first time China has hosted the UCI Pump Track World Championships; in fact, this is the first time the event has been held in Asia. The organisers have built a 275m pump track specifically for the occasion, featuring two major split lines, steep banked turns and a signature feature called the Great Wall Towers. The fastest laps are expected to take around 25 seconds.
Men: Can Borel turn silver into gold?
Switzerland’s Tristan Borel is arguably the favourite in the men’s competition after finishing runner-up at the 2025 UCI World Championships in Monthey, Switzerland, behind Eddy Clerté of France, who misses this competition due to injury. Borel’s time of 20.168 seconds in last year’s final was just 0.145 seconds slower than Clerté’s winning run. This year, he dominated the Belgian qualifier to earn his ticket to China.
Poland’s Braian Nowak finished fifth at the 2025 UCI World Championships and has enjoyed a strong 2026 qualifying campaign. He won the qualifier in Slovakia and finished second at the Swedish event.
Sweden’s Love Sylwan has emerged as a serious contender following a strong 2026 season. He won the Swedish National Championships in July before claiming victory at the Swedish qualifier for the UCI World Championships in Marma the following month, beating Nowak to do so.
Also keep an eye out for the Netherlands’ Jesse Elzenga, who won the small final to take the bronze medal at the 2025 UCI Worlds. He took another third place at the Austrian qualifier earlier this season.
Elzenga’s compatriot Niels Bensink could challenge, too. Bensink won the 2022 UCI Pump Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile and finished seventh last year. His 2026 season includes victory at the Nicaragua qualifier in April.
Other riders worth watching include German qualifier winner Fritz Rose and Slovakia's Adrian Pastucha, who’ve both raced well in the qualifying series.
Women: Košárková the one to beat
For the Elite Women, Czechia’s Sabina Košárková is the undoubted favourite. She arrives in Mentougou as the two-time defending UCI World Champion, having won successive titles in Durban, South Africa in 2024 and Monthey in 2025. She beat Switzerland’s Nadine Aeberhard in the 2024 final before edging another Swiss, Christa von Niederhäusern, by just two hundredths of a second last year. Also runner-up in 2022 and 2023, she’s now the rider to beat. Her 2026 season includes victory at the Camden qualifier in Australia.
Von Niederhäusern has three UCI world titles to her name, winning in 2018, 2022 and 2023. The Swiss rider has been strong in 2026, winning the Austrian qualifier. Could she win her fourth UCI world crown in China?
Germany’s Alina Beck is another rider to watch, after claiming bronze at both the 2023 and 2025 UCI Pump Track World Championships. This season, Beck finished third at the Austrian qualifier, behind Von Niederhäusern and Poland’s Lena Szerling, securing qualification for Beijing.
Latvia’s Vineta Pētersone has already reached the podium twice, winning bronze in both 2022 and 2024. She finished fourth in 2025, narrowly missing another medal after reaching the latter stages of the competition. Her 2026 season includes victory at the Nicaragua qualifier in April.
And Szerling could be a contender after a string of strong qualifying results in 2026. As well as finishing runner-up to Von Niederhäusern in Austria, she placed third at the Spanish qualifier and second at the Swedish event in Marma.
Other contenders include Belgium’s Aiko Gommers, the 2021 UCI World Champion, who won the German qualifier in Köngen this year. Slovakia’s Kristína Madarásová has also shown impressive form, winning both the UK qualifier in Dalbeattie and the Slovakian round. And Belgium’s Julie Heusequin is in good form after securing her place in Beijing with victory at the Spanish qualifier in Aínsa.
With a new course, an historic first for Asia and two fiercely competitive fields, Beijing is set for an unforgettable weekend as riders chase the coveted rainbow jerseys.