UCI Track Nations Cup: Gold in Türkiye for 12 nations

Dutch and British won two golds each

The 2025 UCI Track Nations Cup set the velodrome ablaze in Konya, Türkiye (March 14-16).

The Netherlands brought home the most medals (six) from Türkiye, with two victories and four further podium places. The Dutch riders won the women’s team sprint (Kimberly Kalee, Hetty van de Wouw, Steffie van der Peet) and the men’s omnium (Yanne Dorenbos).

Great Britain’s stars followed, also winning two events, and scoring two additional podiums. They earned their gold medals in the men’s team sprint (Harry Ledingham-Horn, Harry Radford, Matthew Richardson) and the men’s individual sprint (Matthew Richardson).

Dutch domination

Even without their superstar multiple UCI World Champion Harrie Lavreysen, the Dutch riders were still most often to be found on the podium.

The Dutch women got things going on Friday: 21-year-old Lisa van Belle made a strong statement by coming second in the women’s elimination race, behind Yareli Acevedo Mendoza (MEX). The Dutch women’s team sprint built on the momentum, taking gold in dominant fashion over Great Britain (Lauren Bell, Rhian Edmunds and Lowri Thomas).

On Saturday, the Dutch team continued their show of form when Yanne Dorenbos took the honours in the men’s omnium, beating Ashlin Barry (USA) and Kazushige Kuboki (JPN). Dorenbos’ consistency saw him finish third in the scratch race, fourth in both the tempo race and the elimination race and first in the points race. Hetty van de Wouw also made a return to the podium, coming third in the women’s individual sprint, which was won by Liying Yuan (CHN).

Sunday rounded up a successful weekend for the Dutch riders, when Yoeri Havik and Vincent Hoppezak came second in the men’s Madison, finishing closely behind Sebastián Mora Vedri and Albert Torres Barceló (ESP). Lisa van Belle also got herself another medal, finishing second in the women’s omnium behind Ally Wollaston (NZL). In the last event of the omnium, Wollaston managed to take the win from Anita Stenberg (NOR), who was leading the standings ahead of the points race.

Richardson returns

The fans present in the Konya Velodrome were treated to a show of strength from Matthew Richardson. Now representing Great Britain, the 25-year-old powered to victory in the men’s sprint, beating fellow countryman Harry Ledingham-Horn, after they had previously joined forces to also win the men’s team sprint. Richardson continued his winning form for Great Britain after impressive performances at the 2024 UCI Track Champions League and winning national titles in the individual sprint, team sprint and keirin in February 2025.

In the men’s keirin it was Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom (MAS) who raised his hands to celebrate gold, beating Sébastien Vigier (FRA) and Shinji Nakano (JPN) to the line.

In the men’s elimination race, Jules Hesters (BEL) secured the win, beating Noah Wulff (DEN) to the line, while Tim Wafler (AUT) completed the podium.

Gold medals for Germany, France, Australia and Denmark

Track star Mathilde Gros (FRA) caused a stir in the women’s keirin. The 2022 sprint UCI World Champion and 2019 and 2018 keirin European Champion claimed the win, beating Veronika Jaborníková (CZE) and Mina Sato (JPN) with a display of pure power.

The women’s team pursuit also saw some big names return to the scene: The German stars Franziska Brausse, Messane Bräutigam, Lisa Klein and Laura Süssemilch won the gold medal, beating the teams from New Zealand and Australia. Brausse and Klein were part of the German team pursuit squad that won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Germany has been consistently present in the top ranks for the last few years.

Australia won the men’s team pursuit with Joshua Duffy, Liam Walsh, Blake Agnoletto and James Moriarty. They beat the USA in the final, while New Zealand got the better of France in the ride-off for bronze.

In the women’s Madison, the reigning UCI World Champion claimed her rightful place at the top of the podium: Amalie Dideriksen (DEN) won in dominant fashion alongside Ellen Hjollund Klinge this time, instead of her UCI World Championship winning partner Julie Leth. They were followed by Lea Lin Teutenberg and Bräutigam (GER) in second place.

Although the Netherlands topped the medals table, Australian riders secured overall first position in the UCI Track Nations Cup with 10666 points, followed by riders from Germany (9290 pts) and Japan (8733 pts).