Track Champions League scrapped after four years
Track cycling's Champions League has been scrapped four years after its launch. Established in 2021, the event was started in a bid to attract new fans to the sport with light shows, music and a faster format. The Track Champions League featured the world's best endurance and sprint cyclists competing across multiple rounds in different European cities, but only three hosts staged events in 2024 - one in Paris, two in Apeldoorn and two in London. In a statement, the sport's world governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), and its media partner Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) said they would instead "revitalise" the existing Track Nations Cup to become the Track World Cup. "Over the next three years we will focus on coverage of the UCI Track World Cup," UCI president David Lappartient said."I am confident that track cycling will continue to grow in popularity, leading up to and beyond the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games."
The Track Nations Cup has previously been a three-round competition but only one was scheduled this year, in Konya, Turkey, earlier this month.Its rebranding as the Track World Cup will also feature three rounds, with its programme consisting of Olympic events as well as the elimination race. The series will be used in part as qualification for the World Championships and the Olympic Games. The most recent Champions League event took place at Lee Valley VeloPark in London in December, but had to be abandoned after a crash into the crowd involving Great Britain's Katy Marchant.
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