The intensity increases in the 2026 UCI Track World Cup as the gaps tighten at the very top of the overall standings ahead of the final round, next weekend in Nilai, Malaysia (24-26 April).
Winners of the first round (6-8 March) on home soil, in Perth, the Australians retain top position after the most recent action in Hong Kong, China, where it was Team GB who achieved the greatest tally: 13,105 points, notably powered by three gold medals. However, it was China (10,344 points) and Japan (11,401 points) in their wake who built on their strong start of the season to significantly close the gap behind the first placed nation.
Ahead of the last three days of competition, set to close the battle for victory in the reshuffled series and to shape the hierarchy among nations vying for qualifying quotas for the 2026 Tissot UCI Track World Championships (Shanghai, China, in October) and the 2028 Olympic Games (Los Angeles, USA), Australia are up to 19,946 points, while China have claimed 18,880, and Japan 18,505. Great Britain (14,625 points) and Germany (13,947 points) round out the current top 5.
Richardson, Lavreysen and Ota’s high-speed battles
After stepping onto the podium nine times (including three wins) in the opening round, Australian stars had to settle for one bronze medal in Hong Kong, claimed by Leigh Hoffman in the men’s sprint. The event was won by Great Britain’s Matthew Richardson, among the brightest individuals in the first two rounds of the 2026 UCI Track World Cup.
In Perth, the Brit had already ruled the men’s sprint. This time, he also took gold in the team sprint, where his association with Harry Ledingham-Horn and Joseph Truman tamed Dutch powerhouses Harrie Lavreysen, Roy van den Berg and Tijmen van Loon on Friday evening.
Lavreysen got revenge the following day, winning the keirin ahead of two Japanese sprinters, Kaiya Ota and Shinji Nakano… But on Sunday, Ota dominated Lavreysen in the quarterfinals of the individual sprint. The Japanese fast man eventually lost to Richardson in the final.
Yuan powers Chinese speed
The women’s sprint was also illuminated by British, Japanese and Dutch power - Emma Finucane brought Team GB another gold medal as she got the better of Mina Sato. Hetty van de Wouw rounded out the podium.
Finucane took two more medals in events dominated by Chinese sprinters. Already on Friday, Xuehuang Luo, Lijuan Wang and Liying Yuan were the fastest in the final of the team sprint, ahead of Team GB’s Finucane, Lauren Bell and Rhianna Parris-Smith. On Sunday, Yuan again stood on the top step of the podium, this time for the women’s keirin, ahead of Iana Burlakova (AIN) and Finucane.
Japan also found top spot in one of the endurance events with Tsuyaka Uchino winning the women’s omnium.
New Zealand dominated both team pursuits, with Bryony Botha, Prudence Fowler, Emily Shearman and Ally Marée Wollaston ruling the women’s event, while Marshall Erwood, George Jackson, Nicholas Kergozou De La Boessiere, and Daniel Morton took victory in the men’s competition.
Philip Heijnen gave the Netherlands two gold medals, on his own in the men’s omnium, and along with Yoeri Havik in the men’s Madison. The other races were won by France’s Marion Borras and Valentine Fortin (women’s Madison), Norway’s Anita Yvonne Stenberg (women’s elimination race), and Italy’s Matteo Fiorin (men’s elimination race).
Complete results of the 2nd round of the UCI Track World Cup