The UCI Track World Cup resumes this weekend with the opening round of the season in Perth, Australia, from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 March. This event will launch the UCI Track World Cup, which takes over from the UCI Track Nations Cup, and will set the tone ahead of the next two rounds of the series, which will be held in Hong Kong, China (17–19 April) and Nilai, Malaysia (24–26 April)
14 finals across three days
Each round of the UCI Track World Cup will feature the full Olympic track cycling programme – keirin, individual sprint, team sprint, Madison, team pursuit and omnium – in addition to the elimination race. A total of 14 events (seven for women and seven for men) will be contested over three days of intense competition.
Whether enjoying the electric atmosphere of the SpeedDome or following the UCI Track World Cup’s global coverage through the expertise and international network of WBD Sports, fans will be able to watch the finals every evening.
Friday’s programme will open with the Men elimination race, followed by the Women team pursuit, Women team sprint, Men team pursuit and Women elimination. The Men team sprint will round off the day’s action.
On Saturday, titles will be decided in the Women Madison, Women sprint, Men keirin and Men omnium.
Sunday begins with the Men Madison, followed by the Men sprint and women’s keirin, before the Women omnium brings the opening round of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup to a close.
On Saturday morning, two simultaneous events will put the spotlight on emerging talent, with scratch races for the youngest categories, followed by UCI Para Cycling Track World Champion Kane Perris showcasing his strength in a 200 m time trial.
A world-class field in Perth
Stars have already arrived in Perth, where they are currently adjusting to the time zone and preparing to take on Oceania’s riders on home soil. The Australians will look to capitalise on their home advantage with a strong squad that includes Conor Leahy, Perth native and reigning Olympic Champion in the team pursuit. With him, a talented group of compatriots, notably Thomas Cornish, Nicole Duncan, Sophie Edwards, Leigh Hoffman, Claudia Marcks, Alessia McCaig, Maeve Plouffe, Tayte Ryan and Keira Will – all recently crowned at the Oceania Track Championships.
Their neighbour, New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews arrives in Perth with multiple Olympic, UCI World and Oceania titles to her name. She will be among the favourites in both the sprint and the keirin.
Clearly there won’t just be Oceanian stars in Australia: specialists from across the globe are converging on the SpeedDome for the opening round of the UCI Track World Cup, including reigning UCI World Champions Yareli Acevedo (MEX), Moritz Augenstein (GER) and Mina Sato (JPN).
Among the many renowned names in Perth, special mention should go to Matthew Richardson, former UCI World Champion with Australia (team sprint, 2022) and newly crowned UEC European Champion with the Great Britain team, which he joined in 2025. A spectacular sprinter, he currently holds the world record for the 200m time trial (8''857). Will that record still stand by the time the 2026 UCI Track World Cup reaches its finale in Nilai at the end of April?