British talents rule the UCI Junior Track World Championships

Eleven medals, including six gold, for Team GB

The 2024 UCI Junior Track World Championships, in Luoyang (China), were dominated by British youngsters, who top the standings with 11 medals - six of them gold - out of 22 events (11 each for the female and male riders). Junior world records were set in five different events.

Team GB rule

Carys Lloyd led the way for Team GB with no fewer than three gold medals. The young star in the making asserted her dominance in the women’s individual pursuit and partnered up with her compatriots for two more titles in the Madison, with Erin Boothman, and in the team pursuit, where Lloyd, Boothman, Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff set a new world record (4:20.811).

Ferguson, also silver medallist in the 2023 UCI Junior Road World Championships, showed her versatility with another gold medal in the omnium. As for Wolff, she dominated the points race.

Their countryman Henry Hobbs added to Team GB’s golden tally as he powered to victory in the individual pursuit with a time of 3:05.633. His Australian rival William Holmes had set a blazing world record (3:04.161) in the qualifying but couldn’t repeat the same performance in the final and had to settle for silver.

Hobbs claimed a complete set of medals with silver in the 1km time trial and bronze in the men’s team pursuit, alongside Sam Fisher, William Salter and Finlay Tarling. Salter and Tarling also took bronze in the Madison. And Tarling (the younger brother of Joshua Tarling) also finished third in the points race.

Three sprint event golds for Cuadrado

Alongside Lloyd, Colombia’s Stefany Cuadrado is the other rider who took three gold medals in Luoyang as she ruled the female sprint events after she had already won the keirin last year in Cali (Colombia). She participated in her first Olympic Games this summer, at Paris 2024, where she set the Junior world record in the 200m flying start.

This time, she was the strongest, the fastest and also the craftiest to win the keirin again, as well as the sprint and the 500m time trial.

The final of the women’s team sprint was dominated by Chinese arrows Minying Lu, Shuyan Luo, Yi Shi (with Rongrong Wang participating in the first round), who established a new world record on their home track: 48.835.

Luo also took bronze in the individual sprint and in the 500m time trial. And China claimed a fourth medal in these UCI Worlds in the men’s team sprint. In the final Yusheng Feng, Ruyi Li and Haoran Sun finished 2nd against Czechia’s Kryštof Friedl, David Peterka and Jan Pořízek. Zhen Jing raced in the qualifying for the Chinese team.

A complete set of champions

Australia’s Ryan Tayte also built on his previous conquests to claim more glory. Winner of the 1km time trial in last year’s UCI Worlds, he dominated the event again, setting a new world record (59.875). He also won the sprint.

His countrywoman Nicole Duncan had ruled the scratch race in 2023 and she doubled up in Luoyang, winning the same event and also taking the silver medal behind Ferguson in the women’s omnium.

Italy’s Davide Stella claimed two gold medals as well, in the elimination race and the team pursuit (with a new world record: 3:51.199). His countryman Alessio Magagnotti, with whom Stella won the team pursuit (Ares Costa and Christian Fantini rode the final with them, after Eros Sporzon participated in the first round) also added the bronze medal of the individual pursuit to his personal tally. Stella and Sporzon also partnered up in the Madison, where they took silver.

Belgium’s Matijs Van Strijthem leaves Luoyang with two UCI Junior World Champion titles, in the omnium and in the Madison, alongside Nolan Huysmans.

The other gold medals were claimed in the men’s scratch race by France’s Lucas Menanteau, who also came second in the team pursuit (with Léo Busson, Camille Charret and Ellande Larronde) and third in the elimination race, and in the women’s elimination race by Germany’s Messane Bräutigam, also a silver medallist in the Madison with Judith Friederike Rottmann. Belgian Nicolas Aernouts was victorious in the men's points race.