GB Olympic champions head to Shanghai for Track Cycling World Championships

The 2026 Track Cycling World Championships are taking place at the Shanghai Velodrome in China from 14 to 18 October. Olympic and defending world champions are competing for 22 titles. The event is also the first track cycling qualifying competition for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Riders race for the rainbow jersey awarded to world champions, with events split between endurance and sprint disciplines.

Last year's results

Great Britain finished second in 2025, behind the Netherlands, who won nine gold medals. Dutch rider Harrie Lavreysen took four of them, in the keirin, sprint, 1km time trial and team sprint.

Britain will be missing two experienced riders. Madison world champion Katie Archibald retired in May to pursue a career in nursing, and Olympic team sprint champion Katy Marchant announced her retirement last month. Even so, the squad includes eight world title winners and eight Olympic medallists.

British riders to watch

Olympic team sprint champions Emma Finucane and Sophie Capewell hope to regain their world title. Finucane, from Wales, arrives after winning a record four golds at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer. Lowri Thomas and Rhianna Parris-Smith complete the women's sprint team.

In the endurance events, Millie Couzens, Erin Boothman and Abi Miller will make their elite World Championships debuts. Former world champions Meg Barker and Josie Knight add experience, as does reigning individual pursuit champion Anna Morris.

For the men, Harry Ledingham-Horn, a Commonwealth Games silver and bronze medallist, aims to improve on last year's team sprint silver. Matt Richardson returns from injury after beating Lavreysen to the European sprint title earlier this year. Joe Truman and Ed Lowe, who won Olympic team sprint silver at Paris 2024, complete the sprint group.

The men's endurance squad features Ethan Vernon, Mark Stewart and Ollie Wood, who have 15 Olympic and world medals between them, along with brothers Noah and Henry Hobbs and Matt Bostock.

How to watch

Coverage is live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.