UCI Track Champions League cancelled after four years

The UCI Track Champions League series has been cancelled just four editions into an eight-year term, it was announced on Monday.

The winter competition, first held in 2021 and run as a joint venture by the UCI and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), promised to elevate the profile of track cycling, showcasing exciting, short-format racing. WBD originally made an eight-year commitment to produce the series, which has now been axed at the halfway point.

The decision comes as WBD looks to “redefine its involvement in the promotion of track cycling”, according to a press release. The media company will instead be involved in the broadcasting of the UCI Track Nations Cup series, which will be renamed the UCI Track World Cup next year.

Backed by a multi-million pound deal, the UCI Track Champions League stood as a flagship competition in the track calendar.

Growing in its second and third years, the series staged rounds in Palma de Mallorca, Berlin, Paris and London, produced by a team of up to 300 people on site, who managed the event, its broadcasting, and the light shows for which it became known.

The series was also celebrated for its significant prize pot, which totalled €500,000 each year. The overall winners of each of the four leagues – sprint and endurance, for both men and women – took home €25,000, while each individual race winner bagged €1,000.

Katie Archibald, who won the women’s endurance league three times, previously said the series was “super important” to her career. “What’s vital to me about this series is that this is a framework to exist as a professional track cyclist. And if you exist as a professional track cyclist, then you can chase your Olympic dream,” the double Olympic champion said.

Despite the Track Champions League’s glitzy sheen, the series struggled with profitability. Last winter, the event rounds were stripped back, with just three venues hosting. The final round, held inside London’s Lee Valley Velodrome, ended prematurely, suspended after Great Britain’s Katy Marchant crashed into the crowd.

Uncertainty then grew around the future of the series. Sources told Cycling Weekly earlier this month that no rounds had been planned for the 2025 edition, while the series director, Florian Pavia, announced on LinkedIn that he was leaving his post.

In a statement shared by the UCI, president David Lappartient said the Track Champions League had “helped to promote track cycling like never before”.

“With the continuation of our collaboration, which over the next three years will focus on coverage of the UCI Track World Cup, I am confident that track cycling will continue to grow in popularity, leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and beyond,” Lappartient added.