Team GB dominate, China on the rise, Lavreysen the best ever? Five takeaways from the 2026 Track World Championships
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Follow us on GoogleThe 2026 UCI Track World Championships ended in Shanghai on Sunday after five days of racing and 22 world titles. Great Britain topped the medal table, Harrie Lavreysen added to his record haul and a world record fell. Here are our five biggest takeaways from the 2026 Track World Championships.
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1. Things are looking good for British track cycling
Great Britain finished top of the medal table with 12 medals, including six golds. The Netherlands were second with five golds, and Denmark third with two.
Every British title came in an endurance event. The women won the team pursuit, Millie Couzens led a British one-two over Josie Knight in the individual pursuit, and Matthew Bostock and Mark Stewart won the scratch and points races.
Anna Morris was the star of the week, winning three rainbow jerseys: the team pursuit, the omnium, and the madison with Erin Boothman.
The sprint squad has work to do. Emma Finucane left with two silvers and a bronze but no title, and Great Britain went into the week without sprinter Matthew Richardson, who was withdrawn before racing began. Two years from LA 2028, few nations have this depth.
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Harrie Lavreysen
2. Harrie Lavreysen is the greatest male track sprinter of all time
Lavreysen retained his team sprint and keirin titles, then won the individual sprint for an eighth consecutive year. He has not lost a world sprint final since 2019. He beat Australia’s Leigh Hoffman 2-0 in Sunday’s final, by 0.093 and 0.183 seconds.
That took the 29-year-old to a record 23 world titles, alongside five Olympic gold medals. Hoffman pushed him hard in the first race, but the Dutchman closed it out in the second with a powerful ride from the front. With LA 2028 on the horizon, it is hard to see who can beat him.
After such an impressive performance in Shanghai, Leyvreysen has arguably surpassed the great Sir Chris Hoy as the best track sprinter of all time.
3. Endurance speeds keep climbing
Jonathan Milan (Italy) became the first rider to go under 3:59 in the 4km individual pursuit, clocking 3:58.850 in qualifying. In the same session, Denmark’s Frederik Madsen also broke four minutes. Ten years ago, the world record stood at 4:10.543.
Denmark again set the pace in the team events. They won the men’s team pursuit, beating Italy in the final, and closed the championships with victory in the madison through Carl-Frederik Bévort and Lasse Norman Leth.
The Italy–Denmark rivalry looks set to define the endurance events on the road to LA in 2028.
4. China’s breakthrough on home soil
This was the first Track World Championships ever held in China, and the hosts made it count. They won the women’s team sprint on the opening night, and men’s team sprint bronze followed.
Then 21-year-old Yuan Liying beat Emma Finucane 2-0 in the individual sprint final for her second world title of the week.
China finished fifth in the medal table with two golds. In women’s sprinting, they are certainly the nation to watch heading towards 2028.
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5. Team USA have ground to make up before LA 2028
For the Olympic hosts, the week was a reality check. The men’s team pursuit squad, including the returning Taylor Phinney, qualified seventh, more than six seconds behind Denmark, and lost to France in the first round.
The women’s team pursuit squad, featuring Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner, finished ninth and missed the next round.
The USA’s only medal was Megan Jastrab’s bronze in the women’s elimination race. There were positives. Under-23 road world champion Ashlin Barry qualified fifth in the individual pursuit and finished fourth in the elimination race.
But with less than two years until LA, the gap to the leading nations seems to be growing.
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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