Elisa Balsamo, Ethan Hayter, Megan Jastrab… Some of the most exciting talents of the UCI WorldTour and UCI Women’s WorldTour have been lighting up the velodromes of the Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup this season.
The Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup, introduced in 2021 and going into full swing this year, has delighted fans and riders, not only with its intense racing, but also with the opportunities to see stars combine the highest level of competitions in the velodrome with a strong calendar on the roads of the UCI WorldTour and the UCI Women’s WorldTour.
Ethan Hayter is a brilliant example. This week, the British prodigy is participating in the Critérium du Dauphiné, his second UCI WorldTour stage race, a few weeks after an impressive Tour de Romandie (2 stage wins). He’s riding strongly, again, with the support of the Ineos Grenadiers powerhouse, and the fans got to see him race for the first time in a white jersey as leader of the best young rider in a UCI WorldTour event.
The regions of Romandie, in the Swiss Alps, and Dauphiné, in the French Alps, are very close to each other, but Hayter took a detour via Canada between the two road events. In the velodrome of Milton, he took on the second round of the Track Nations Cup (May 12-15), with success: gold in the Omnium (the event he already dominated in last year’s UCI Track World Championships) and silver in the Madison alongside Rhys Britton, who also took gold in the Scratch Race and then went on to ride the Ronde de l’Oise (2.2) on French roads.
Hayter’s return to the road was in the Tour of Norway at the end of May, where he took another stage win, in Geilo, before tackling the Dauphiné.
“I was really tired in Norway with the jet lag,” the young Briton said after finishing 2nd in stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné. “But today was a really good day and I want to keep building.”
Back on the track
Many other stars have followed similar paths on the tracks and roads of the world. In the Critérium du Dauphiné, Benjamin Thomas is gearing up for the Tour de France after leading the French team to success in April’s opening round of the Track Nations Cup, in Glasgow (Great Britain).
Ethan Vernon, Hayter’s young compatriot, was also in Glasgow, where he won the silver medal in the team pursuit. The month before, he was claiming his maiden UCI WorldTour success on the roads of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (stage 5).
Even younger than Vernon and Hayter, USA’s Megan Jastrab – a Junior UCI World Champion on the road and on the track – also shone in Milton after Paris-Roubaix Femmes and before the RideLondon Classique. She was third in the team pursuit, alongside the winner of the individual pursuit standings in the 2021 Track Nations Cup, Lily Williams, who is also riding a full season in the UCI Women’s WorldTour with Human Powered Health.
Balsamo and the Squadra Azzurra on all fronts
But the most impressive riders this season when it comes to combining road and track schedules may very well be from the Squadra Azzurra, and especially the Italian women. While the German track specialists currently lead the overall standings of the UCI Track Nations Cup, Italy are right behind, having topped the medal standings in Milton (10 medals, including 4 gold).
At the helm of the Italian assault on the podiums, UCI Road World Champion Elisa Balsamo has claimed five medals (3 gold) in Glasgow and Milton while she racked up victories in the Spring Classics on the road.
In the velodromes, she’s a pillar of the team pursuit, alongside other road talents such as Silvia Zanardi, Martina Fidanza and Chiara Consonni, who accompanied her to victory in Milton. On the Canadian track, Balsamo also dominated the Omnium, and partnered with Consonni in the Madison to claim more gold. They won ahead of the Australian team which featured Alexandra Manly, who went on to smash the Internationale Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour on the road, with four stage wins and the overall.
After Glasgow and Milton were graced by these talents, Cali (Colombia) waits its turn with the final round of the 2022 Tissot UCI Track Nations Cup to be held next month (July 7-10).