Mathilde Gros, Matthew Richardson, Jennifer Valente and Claudio Imhof are the winners of the 2022 UCI Track Champions League after the final double header in London.
Women’s Endurance: Valente holds off Archibald
The 5,500 spectators in the Lee Valley VeloPark had already expressed their enthusiasm through the night, especially when Katie Archibald won the elimination race. The British icon gave it everything in front of her fans but it was too late to claim the overall lead from Jennifer Valente.
In Palma de Mallorca, Berlin (Germany), Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France) and London, Archibald won five races out of ten. The two-time Olympic Champion and winner of the Women Endurance league last year, showed her extraordinary class but she also let things slip away on a couple of occasions, most notably when she was the first rider out of the elimination race in the opening round.
On the other hand, Valente won only one race, the elimination in round 4, yet the American never finished lower than 4th. The 2020 Olympic Champion in the Omnium paced herself like a metronome and pounced when it mattered, reaching an outstanding heart rate of 205 beats per minute to claim her sole victory of the series, a success that proved key to the overall victory as Archibald couldn’t overcome an 8-point deficit in the last round.
“This definitely caps off a much better year than I ever could have hoped for, and thankfully, my first UCI Track Champions League series has played out pretty much how I hoped for as well,” Valente celebrated, with a final tally of 161 points, compared to Archibald’s 158.
Hail to the new Endurance, King & Queen, @ClaudioImhof & Jennifer Valente, the 2022 #UCITCL Endurance Champions 🙌#TrackCycling pic.twitter.com/QzO9hQArZD
— UCI Track Champions League (@UCITCL) December 3, 2022
Men’s Endurance: Imhof wins the tightest battle
The Men’s Endurance league was even tighter and gave the crowds plenty of occasions to explode with excitement. Spain’s Sebastián Mora and Switzerland’s Claudio Imhof came into the final round tied in the lead of the overall standings (99 points), with Canadian Mathias Guillemette (93 pts) following closely and Great Britain’s Mark Stewart (87 pts) and Oliver Wood (77 pts) determined to electrify the Lee Valley VeloPark.
Stewart’s late push up to 1,104 watts allowed him to edge everyone on the line for the win of the Scratch. His friend Wood went on to dominate the elimination. Both of them enjoyed the opportunity to share a unique moment with the fans, delighted by these spectacular successes and the visible elation of the British riders.
But the main winner of the night was Imhof, with his 2nd place in the elimination sealing his overall victory. Mora still had the same number of points (125) as Imhof at the end of the night, but the Spaniard came 4th in the elimination and thus had to surrender the blue leader’s jersey to his Swiss rival.
“It’s just crazy”, Imhof reflected. “I gained power and experience with every passing round and I kept things consistent. These last two days in London have been hard but somehow I managed to concentrate on the elimination tonight and I gave it all I had. It was an incredible moment when I realised I’d won.”
Men’s Sprint: Richardson gets the better of Lavreysen
Did anybody imagine that Harrie Lavreysen, an 11-time UCI Track World Champion, could be beaten across the five rounds of the 2022 UCI Track Champions League? Even to Matthew Richardson, “it feels surreal”. But the Australian rising star has turned the tables, taking a surprise victory over the Dutch king of sprint as early as the first round, in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), and eventually an emphatic triumph in London (Great Britain).
The two men went head-to-head night in and night out, capping things off on Saturday 3 December. The other overall titles had just been decided but everything was at play between Richardson and Lavreysen.
The stakes were crystal clear - Richardson had to finish ahead of Lavreysen in the final of the keirin to be crowned winner of the Men’s Sprint League. With tension at a maximum in the velodrome of Lee Valley VeloPark , Lavreysen led out the sprint… but Richardson edged him right at the end to secure the overall victory with a 2-point advantage (183 vs 181).
His thunderous roar joined that of the fans as Richardson revelled in his impressive success, a few weeks after claiming his first rainbow jersey as UCI World Champion in the team sprint. “This win is super important and it means a lot to me”, the Australian sprinter said. “The London crowd was amazing too, I really hope they enjoyed the racing.”
Women’s Sprint: Gros is on a beautiful roll
Lying on the floor moments before the award ceremony, Mathilde Gros had given her everything to secure the overall victory in the 2022 UCI Track Champions League, a few weeks after being crowned UCI World Champion in the individual sprint. Her painful grin soon turned into a delighted smile when she joined Richardson, Valente and Imhof on the podium to lift their trophies.
Gros claimed the first and the last wins of the series, making the most of her strength and confidence in the individual sprint. She was less successful in the keirin, scoring 0 points in the event in Mallorca, but she got up to speed and had her best night at home, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (winner of the sprint, 2nd in the keirin), where she claimed her rainbow stripes at the last UCI Worlds.
More success in London granted her a commanding tally of 140 points, ahead of two Olympic Champions: Canadian Kelsey Mitchell (127 pts) and Dutchwoman Shanne Braspennincx (122).
“It’s been an amazing night and I’m really happy with my result,” the French star said after setting a new personal maximum heart rate: 204 beats per minute. “It’s been harder than last year but I’ve taken a lot of pleasure in racing with the other riders in the UCI Track Champions League.”