The final round of the UCI Track Champions League in London saw Australian Matthew Richardson narrowly fend off Harrie Lavreysen to claim overall victory in the men’s sprint category, while Jennifer Valente of the USA triumphed outright in the women’s endurance.
Katie Archibald proved once again to be Valente’s most persistent rival as the Briton claimed the win in the elimination race, her fifth in the series, and took third in the scratch behind Australian Chloe Moran. But Valente nonetheless held out for the overall title with a solid succession of placings to finish with a three-point advantage overall.
In the women’s sprint category, Mathilde Gros of France continued to dominate, ultimately clinching the outright victory with a win in the final event ahead of Canada’s Kelsey Mitchell.
And in the men’s endurance, Claudio Imhof of Switzerland fought a tenacious battle against Spain’s Sebastian Mora to win outright despite losing the final elimination race against local rider Oliver Wood, but - crucially - finishing two places ahead of the Spaniard.
The men’s sprint category finished in equally dramatic fashion as Lavreysen defeated Richardson in the individual sprint but ceded the overall title when he lost out in the keirin to the Australian.
The outcome was identical to the same rounds in France last week at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and in London’s Lee Valley Park velodrome on Friday. But in this case, in front of a sellout crowd of some 5,000 fans, Richardson was able to come out as the overall winner.
“It feels surreal to have won the 2022 UCI Track Champions League,” Richardson, who claimed the victory by just two points overall, said afterwards. “I knew it was going to be close between Harrie [Lavreysen] and I coming into the end, but it couldn’t have come any closer than that.”
“The whole series has been an intense four weekends, so it’s a relief that I can put my feet up now. This win is super important and it means a lot to me. The London crowd was amazing too, I really hope they enjoyed the racing.”
Fourth in the scratch and second in the elimination events, Valente was equally delighted to have taken the victory in the women’s endurance, recognising that “This definitely caps off a much better year than I ever could have hoped for, and thankfully, my first UCI Track Champions League series has played out pretty much how I hoped for as well.”
“I’ve been living the hotel life for a few weeks now as I live outside of Europe, but it’s a good environment to be in, with good racing, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Winners of the other events were Colombia’s Martha Bayona in the women’s keirin, while Mark Stewart captured the host nation’s second of three partial victories of the night with a win in the men’s scratch, his second triumph of the UCL series.
