UCI Champions League scrapped after four years
LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - Track cycling's Champions League has been scrapped four years after its launch was hailed as a mind-blowing new way to present a sport often unfathomable to the general public.
A joint statement on Monday from cycling's governing body the UCI and media partner Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports confirmed the 2024 season was the last.
WBD originally committed to an eight-year partnership but the statement said it was "re-defining" its involvement in the promotion of track cycling.
The UCI said the Track Nations Cup would be revitalised and become the Track World Cup from 2026 and that the collaboration with WBD would continue over the next three years.
"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 UCI Track Champions League featured the world's top endurance and sprint riders competing across multiple rounds in cities such as Palma, London, Berlin and Paris from November-December with the points leaders in each category being crowned overall champions and pocketing 25,000 euros.
Spectacular light shows, music and a rapid and simplified format were meant to appeal to fans new to track cycling and designed to be TV-friendly. The two rounds held in London each year were hugely popular with large crowds but other venues found it harder to sell tickets.
Only three hosts staged a Champions League round in 2024.
The Champions League era came to an abrupt halt at the second London round in December when a bad crash involving Britain's Olympic champion Katy Marchant meant the rest of the night's programme was cancelled.
The UCI Track World Cup will consist of three rounds, with a program featuring the Olympic events as well as the elimination race, a format that has proved popular with the public. The series will form part of the qualification process for the world championships and Olympic Games.
Bids are being accepted by the UCI for hosts for the rounds of the 2026, 2027 and 2028 editions.
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