Track Champions League 2022 recap - Jennifer Valente pips Katie Archibald, Matt Richardson dethrones Harrie Lavreysen

For following the second season of the UCI Track Champions League with Eurosport. Every rider has given their all in the name of the newest, biggest competition in track cycling. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have and applaud the efforts of four great and true champions.

Men’s endurance - Top 5

1. Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) 125 points
2. Sebastian Mora (Spain) 125
3. Mark Stewart (Great Britain) 115
4. Ollie Wood (Great Britain) 112
5. Matthias Guillemette (Canada) 107

Women’s endurance - Top 5
1. Jennifer Valente (USA) 161 points
2. Katie Archibald (Great Britain) 158
3. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) 110
4. Anita Stenberg (Norway) 110
5. Lily Williams (USA) 95

Men’s sprint - Top 5
1. Matthew Richardson (Australia) 183 points
2. Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) 181
3. Stefan Botticher (Germany) 136
4. Santiago Morales Ramires (Colombia) 92
5. Kevin Quintero (Colombia) 89

Women’s sprint - Top 5
1. Mathilde Gros (France) 140 points
2. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) 127
3. Shanne Braspenninckx (Netherlands) 122
4. Martha Bayona (Colombia) 120
5. Steffie van der Peet (Netherlands) 106

It’s the very last race of this year’s Track Champions League. Kelsey Mitchell against Mathilde Gros. Can the Frenchwoman make it four out of five, and make up for the one blot on her copybook from last night? Can Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Mitchell finish the women’s sprint competition as she started it, with a win?

Eyes down, bars locked, here we go. Gros in the front, looking backwards. Mitchell drifts up the track, hoping to get underneath, but Gros is wise to the move. They’re both going wide, and Mitchell jumps in front! At the bell she leads, a small gap, is it big enough? It’s not. The pair are shoulder to shoulder at the start of the straight, and Gros edges ahead with about ten metres to spare. The Frenchwoman has been the standout star of this year’s competition and a deserving winner of the competition. Kelsey Mitchell has earned her second place. Still very new to the sport, she should be very happy with herself. The difference between them was just 13 points in the end.

Harrie Lavreysen
Matthew Richardson
Stefan Botticher
Jeffrey Hoogland
Mohd Azizulhasni
Tom Derache

This is it, the final we’ve been waiting for. It’s very simple: If Richardson wins, it’s his, if Lavreysen can double up he is our champion. Don’t ask me to work out the maths of other outcomes. Jeffrey Hoogland goes first, but it’s Botticher who makes the first big move. Richardson looks to be motoring until he gets taken by Lavreysen. Into the final turn and it’s between the two strongest, shoulder to shoulder, Lavreysen leading on the inside… RICHARDSON STEALS IT ON THE LINE! That will give the Australian the title too! What a contest this has been, and what a result. This rivalry is going to run for years and years.

The final race of the endurance competition, to decide who will be this year’s champion of the UCI Track Champions League. The devil takes the hindmost, remember.

The first rider the demon claws his way is… Roy Eefting, who shakes his head in disappointment. Also going home empty handed is the Swede Johannsson. The commissaire is not sure what’s going on and declines a call as Johansson declines to depart the scene. I’ve lost track a little bit, but just to catch up, Haga, Tene, Koontz and Donega are knocked out in that order.

Now, where were we. In 12th, it’s a surprise as one of our contenders Mathias Guillemette is finished for the season. That rules him out, for the win, eh?

Malcharek of Germany is trapped at the bottom, before the Polish man puts himself in a similarly sticky situation to say goodbye in 10th. 9th place is a Brit, Will Perrett, who picks up a few points but not loads, from the bottom of the track.

His pal Mark Stewart, scratch winner can’t hide at the bottom either, as the commissaire calls his name for missing a trick. It’s going to be Gavin Hoover next, last night’s winner of this race who leaves us in 7th place.

Young Dylan Bibic can’t keep it up as he is down and out in 6th place. Scartezzini gives up with Bibic, way early, which is an easy call for the judges. Now Mora goes! This offers something for Imhof! How much longer can he hang on? Buchli’s departure reduces us to our final two, and it’s Ollie Wood against Claudio Imhof for the win! Off goes the Swiss man, with the Brit closing fast. This one is going to the line and it’s going to be one for the locals to celebrate, as Ollie Wood seals it with a win by a couple of wheels. Second place is enough for Imhof to take the title though.

The Swiss man and the Spaniard finish level on points, but Imhof, according to my colleague, wins due to his better placings across this competition. Delighted for him!

Semi-final 1
Olena Starikova
Mathilde Gros
Pauline Grabosch

All Gros has to do is get through to the final to win the whole thing. Starikova is going to make it hard, though, leaping into the lead by the bell, but Gros does enough to split the pair down the middle. She grits her teeth, works her thighs above the red line and soars into the final.

Semi-final 2
Shanne Braspennincx
Kelsey Mitchell
Martha Bayona

Our final semi-final and it’s three of the biggest and best fighting for their right to be there at the end. We’ve just seen a flash that says Shanne Braspennincx wins if she wins and Mathilde Gros finishes outside the top 4. Which she can’t now. So it’s now the overall order that they’re playing for. Can Mitchell secure second place with her first final of this series? She rides like there’s no tomorrow, no messing around, hitting the front early and kicking the other two to the canvas. That was an impressive final - penultimate - ride from the Canadian, who had nothing to lose. I think that’s enough for second spot for her, but can she take another win in this series?

Heat 1
Stefan Botticher
Jair Tjon En Fa
Rayan Helal
Mohd Azizulhasni Awang
Santiago Morales
Thomas Cornish

And the men’s sprinters are back on track, some for the last time, with the little chap on the little bike. Cornish darts from 4th to the front as the derny disappears, Helal is fighting for the front as well. At the bell it’s all together but Stefan Botticher emerges from the group to lead easily and cross the line by several lengths. Awang is the surprise second man to advance to the final.

Heat 2
Harrie Lavreysen
Mikhail Iakovlev
Shinji Nakano
Hamish Turnbull
Tom Derache
Jai Angsuthasawit

It’s the Lavreysen heat, but who to go with him? The world champion looks good in rainbows, fwiw. First to move here is Hamish Turnbull, with two laps to go, before Lavreysen says “this one is mine.” He wrestles control of the heat and lets the rest sort it out for themselves. Tom Derache hung onto his wheel strongly enough to come through for the second final place.

Heat 3
Matthew Richardson
Kevin Quintero
Jeffrey Hoogland
Mateusz Rudyk
Esow Esow
Sergey Ponomaryov

It’s the final qualifying round and the last ride for several of these men. Who will accompany Richardson to the final? Harrie Lavreysen is as interested as anyone, looking on from the middle. The Australian comes off the wheel of the derny, as Hoogland heads up top and makes for the front. He’s on his way with two laps to go as Richardson goes hunting. Last lap! Here comes Richardson, easily advancing, and it’s very close for that second spot. I thought Hoogland had been beaten but he is indeed the man to go through to the final. He really has found his legs in the last couple of weeks.

The final race of the women’s endurance league is off. No time to tell you how this works, you should know by now.

The first threes rider to end their TCL are New Zealand’s Emma Cumming, Michelle Andres of Switzerland and - to the disappointment of the Brits - Laura Kenny.

Into the points and Chloe Moran is caught with the fewest, unable to latch on, as hard as sje tried. Uchino of Japan lacks the lack to stay with the rest and is out in 14th place.

Barbero of Spain is next to go, in the middle but at the back. Canada’s Sarah van Dam looked safe until she wasn’t. Teutenberg, caught out at the bottom of the track is out in 11th. Finishing 10th here is another Brit, but don’t fret, it’s Sophie Lewis not Katie Archibald. Emily Kay is next to fall, losing contact, clawing back, but getting pipped on the line.

Rachele Barbieri struggles with the pace in the latest lap, again getting in the short way round but getting done by Lily Williams higher up the track. Another Italian is out in 7th, even as she sprints to safety, there’s no haven for her.

This time it is Lily Williams, who’s been borrowing for a while. Anita Stenberg is out in 5th, giving up way before the line. It’s all splitting up at the front now, and Michaela Drummond can do no more. Coles Lyster finishes third, and it’s the between the two strongest racers to fight it out for the final win. Valente has the overall regardless.

She lets Archibald take it, but probably couldn’t put up much of a fight anyway. The home fans get their home win, as the American is confirmed as the women’s endurance champion by three points.

Heat 1
Olena Starikova
Emma Finucane
Helena Casas Roig

No rest for the wicked, we’re sprinting already. Starikova will win this, but Finucane is gonna make her fight for it. The Britain goes long and has a big gap at the bell. Can she hang on? Nope! Starikova overhauls her as the track straightens out and smooths her way into the semi-final.

Heat 2
Martha Bayona
Hetty van de Wouw

Heat two features two strong riders, one of whom definitely has her tail up after that keirin win. Two-up, in the absence of Lea Friedrich. We ride on board with Bayona, as VDW stalks her, heads up the banking and looks to swoop down. Overtake complete! She’s moving, the Dutch rider. Can Bayona hang on and hit her on the line? Yes she can. Another very good victory for the Colombia

Heat 3
Taky Marie-Divine Kouame
Pauline Grabosch
Steffie van der Peet

Back to threes, and it should be the Dutchwoman from this heat. Grandstand finish from the German rider, though? She’s going to try. Grabosch pushing on lap one, with Kouame coming fast behind, and the Dutch rider using every inch of the track. Kouame chasing down the back straight but she cannot do enough. Finally Grabosch advances to a semi-final.

Heat 4
Miriam Vece
Shanne Braspennincx
Ursula Los

Braspennincx 100% the favourite here, but Los, currently 11th placed, could spring a trap. It’s the Italian who starts things off, though, and winds the race up as well. Long lead with 2 laps remaining, a straight with one to go. But even that is not enough as Braspennincx puts the hammer down and makes mincemeat of Vece before the line. Good try from the Italian, though, who had to attempt something.

Heat 5
Kelsey Mitchell
Luz Daniela Gaxiola Gonzalez

Finally, what should be a gimme for Canada’s Kelsey Mitchell. Just one other rider to beat and, with respect to the talented Mexican, it’s not one of the strongest. They don’t bother with the fancy stuff though, and it’s a fast one, with Mitchell wanting to get the job done. Gonzalez is chasing her wheel, and there’s never any danger of the Mexican getting past her.

Heat 6
Mathilde Gros
Laurine van Riessen
Orla Walsh

This is gonna be easy for Gros, she’s looking confident. She hits the front by the bell, and is flying round the last two turns. Van Riessen is pushing her but Gros just about has enough time to ease up - a little - before the line. Comfortable-ish, I’d call that.

Here we are then. Who is going to take first blood? If Lavreysen can, he will lead by just a single point; if Richardson takes it, the World sprint champ will have a mountain to climb in the keirin.

Slightly cagey start, but no track stands like last night. Two laps to go and the rainbow jersey is not messing around. He’s going for it. And from the inside he gets it! It came down to a performative throw on the line, which Lavreysen, head down won by a wheel. One point the difference. It really is going down to the wire.

Here it is then, the first endurance race of the night. This is the closest of our competitions, with Mora wearing the jersey by dint of his victory in this same race last weekend in Paris. We’re in for a banger, I think, as every one of these has been.

Lots of short turns and swings up in the opening laps, no-one wanting to risk it all too early. A few splits present opportunities maybe, but none are eagerly taken. Five laps down and still no attacks, but Mora and Imhof are stuck together like glue.

Here it is, a move from Gavin Hoover. Short-lived, though, as someone else was right on it. Eight laps in and something more serious starts to happen, with the German Malcharek and the Polish man with the unpronouncable name going strong together, Their move doesn’t make it either and it’s the last chance saloon with a couple of laps to go. Hoover goes and takes Mora with him. Nice latch Mora.

The bunch are looming, though, they won’t survive, will they? No! It’s a Brit on the line, and Mark Stewart is the one to take his second win of this competition. He puts his hand to his ear and the home fans are on their feet. Ollie Wood takes third, with Mora 4th, to extend his lead in the endurance contest, with Imhof down in 7th place.

Steffie van der Peet
Mathilde Gros
Shanne Braspennincx
Hetty van de Wouw
Taky Marie-Divine Kouame
Martha Bayona

Here we are then, our first final of the night. Gros can effectively seal the competition with a win here, but this one is far from a foregone conclusion. Three Dutchwoman in the final here. Can any of them challenge the Gros supremacy? Gros leads with two rotations remaining, but she gets smoked in the final lap, overtaken by two Dutchwomen and the Colombian. It’s Bayona who has the best legs tonight though, beating Braspenninckx into second, with Steffie van der Peet in third. Gros was last at the line.

Semi-final 1
Santiago Morales
Jeffrey Hoogland
Matthew Richardson

Hoogland gets this one going, taking it to Richardson. At the bell the Australian is coming and despite Hoogland’s best effort he’s just not fast enough to beat the fastest man this year (so far)

Semi-final 2
Harrie Lavreysen
Stefan Botticher
Kevin Quintero

What can Botticher do here? Not much, you’d think but he’s gonna try. Fast start, with Quintero sitting back a bit, before coming ahead. Botticher takes over at the front until Lavreysen trounces them both in the final straight. Richardson v Lavreysen will be our final final of this year’s sprint competition.

Nine points Katie Archibald needs to take the lead in this competition. There are various other connotations but the simplest is that if Archibald wins this one, Valente will have to finish 5th or lower for the Brit to be provisional blue.

Come on Katie, get the crowd going on their feet.

Archibald is the rider to start things off and speed things up. Two laps in and no attacks just yet, but three in and Katie is on the move. She has about a tenth but no company, so will have to knock it off. Valente is watching her like a hawk as you’d expect.

Seven laps in and it’s going very fast, super strung out and… just as I say that, a lap later it all slows down and bunches up. Lots of looking around at each other.

Halfway through and two riders have a bit of a lead, Chloe Moran and Sarah van Dam. They should get away and stay away, you’d think, posing no threat to the overall and will take the top points away from the rest. Four laps left and they’ll be setting up for the minor places sprint now. Moran takes her first victory of this series with Van Dam in second, and it looked like Katie Archibald in third. Jennifer Valente was 4th, maybe 5th, so Archibald gains a few points but not as many as she’d have hoped.

Heat 1
Martha Bayona (Colombia)
Shanne Braspennincx (Netherlands)
Laurine van Riessen (Netherlands)
Urszula Los (Poland)
Orla Walsh (Ireland)
Emma Finucane (Great Britain)

And we’re back with the little bloke on the motorbikes, and the competition that finds Bayona needing a strong score to have any chance of relieving Mathilde Gros of the blue jersey that was for one night hers. After two poor results yesterday the Colombian is 25 points behind. Braspenninckx is now the favourite for this one, but both her and Bayona ought to go through. One Dutchwoman leads as the derny leaves us, the other behind Bayona in the middle of the pack. At the bell Braspennincx looks to go round but takes Bayona with her, as the pair ease their way into the final. That looked like a bit of a clever setup by Van Riessen to me.

Heat 2
Miriam Vece (Italy)
Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
Taky Marie-Divine Kouame (France)
Steffie van der Peet (Netherlands)
Olena Starikova (Ukraine)

The Kelsey Mitchell heat, as we’re going to call it. My favourite rider of the ones I’ve spoken to, though I like them all, obviously. Should be the Canadian and Starikova but you can’t rule out either Kouame or Van der Peet. Probably can Vece, though. The Ukrainian is on the front as the derny leads them round, and it’s her who decides to start the fire. Van Der Peet over the top of her and leading at the bell, with Kouame on her shoulder. Mitchell had too much work to do and is knocked out in 3rd, I think. Van der Peet the winner of that heat, with Kouame the second qualifier.

Heat 3
Mathilde Gros (France)
Pauline Grabosch (Germany)
Hetty van de Wouw (Netherlands)
Luz Daniela Gaxiola Gonzalez (Mexico)
Helena Casas Roig (Spain)

Final heat of the three, with Gros sure to advance along with either Van de Wouw or Gaxiola. They’ve matched each other across this competition, and just one point separates them. Gros wants to get this done, so does VDW, but it’s Gros at the bell. The Spaniard is riding well, but it looked to be the Dutchwoman who took second spot there.

Women's scratch is next.

Heat 1
Mikhail Iakovlev (Israel)
Jeffrey Hoogland (Netherlands)
Jair Tjon En Fa (Suriname)

The first race of the night sees 6th plays 9th plays the last place rider. So Iakovlev should win this race, but Hoogland seems to have ridden into form this week, so it’s not as clear cut as it might be. The race gets off to a fast start, thanks to Iakovlev, but Hoogland leads with a lap and a half left. Three together at the bell, Iakovlev on Hoogland’s shoulder, briefly, but he can’t come round the Dutchman, who wins by a length and a half. Racing has been good for him.

Heat 2
Kevin Santiago Quintero (Colombia)
Shinji Nakano (Japan)
Tom Derache (France)

A pretty strong favourite in this one, in Kevin Quintero, but a race I’m pretty sure he’ll have to work for. Nakano has a record of riding from the front and forcing the pace. He does so again, taking over and winding up, with Quintero not far behind. Derache comes over the top of both of them, leading at the bell. The Colombian comes down from the top of the track but did he get to the line in time…? He did. Just. Half a wheel in it. Great ride from the Frenchman, though.

Heat 3
Sergey Ponomaryov (Kazakhstan)
Mohd Azizulhasni Awang (Malaysia)
Santiago Ramirez Morales (Colombia)

The other Colombian to go through here, you’d think. Morales is fighting it out at the moment with his compatriot for that fourth spot, with five points separating them. The Colombian drops down first but Awang ain’t letting go of this one without a fight, weaving them up and down the boards and increasing the pace. One lap to go and it’s between Awang and Morales, the latter on the outside, but the extra distance doesn’t make it too hard for him to go through. All to form so far.

Heat 4
Stefan Botticher (Germany)
Esow Esow (India)
Thomas Cornish (Australia)

The third place rider, Botticher ought to take this one. He’s been consistently strong but he had a bad night yesterday, not making it through the heats and coming 9th in the sprint. Time to make amends. At the bell he leads, refusing to be as complacent as he was on night one, going clear and staying there to ease through to the semi-finals.

Heat 5
Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)
Rayan Helal (France)

Second place Lavreysen, back in his rainbow jersey, and not riding last for once. All of that feels odd to type. Both the other two riders sprinted well last night, but it’s hard to see them riding well enough to knock Harrie to the canvas. Rudyk wastes no time on the opening two laps, but Lavreysen soon catches and overhauls the Pole. So does Helal, who will pick up a couple of points for second place, but it was the Dutchman all day.

Heat 6
Matthew Richardson (Australia)
Hamish Turnbull (Great Britain)
Jai Angsuthasawit (Thailand)

Matthew Richardson, riding in aquamarine for the first time, against the Brit who has done fine and the Malaysian rider in 7th place. Great series for him. Richardson takes up middle position, watching his six, who is Turnbull. They dance around the blue for a bit before weaving across the straight and finally Angsuthasawit winds things up with a lap to go. He has a gap. Is it big enough? It is not. That probably looked closer than it was. Of course Richardson took it on the line.

Every sprint a banker, there. Women's keirin opening heats up next.

Here's tonight's race schedule:

We're four minutes away from the first race, the men's sprint.

Welcome to live coverage of the final evening of racing at the UCI Track Champions League 2022. We’re back at the Lee Valley Velodrome in London, where Olympic gold medals have been won, to find out who will be the men’s and women’s endurance and sprint champions.

While in the women’s competitions we have fairly firm favourites, neither is a sure thing. In the men’s it could not be closer, with the top two sprinters separated by two points, and the riders at the top of the endurance standings dead level. Sebastian Mora - who very kindly helped me find the changing rooms at the media day in Saint Quentin last month - and Claudio Imhof both have 99 points, and are separated only by Mora’s scratch race victory at the aforementioned velodrome.

If you think you know what’s going to go down tonight, well I’ve got news for you.

After four enthralling rounds of racing - in Mallorca, Berlin, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and London - Matthew Richardson of Australia leads the men’s Sprint category, with Netherlands' Lavreysen sat in second. The men’s Endurance sees just 12 points separate Claudio Imhof (Austria) in first and Mark Stewart (Great Britain) in fourth.

France's Mathilde Gros still leads the women's Sprint League after the first of the London rounds while Jennifer Valente of the United States extended her lead in the Endurance category from reigning champion Katie Archibald who is eight points back in second.

Men’s endurance - Top 5

1. Sebastian Mora (Spain) 99 points
2. Claudio Imhof (Switzerland) 99
3. Matthias Guillemette (Canada) 93
4. Mark Stewart (Great Britain) 87
5. Ollie Wood (Great Britain) 77

Women’s endurance - Top 5
1. Jennifer Valente (USA) 131 points
2. Katie Archibald (Great Britain) 123
3. Anita Stenberg (Norway) 89
4. Maggie Coles-Lyster (Canada) 84
5. Lily Williams (USA) 79

Men’s sprint - Top 5
1. Matthew Richardson (Australia) 146 points
2. Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands) 144
3. Stefan Botticher (Germany) 108
4. Santiago Morales Ramires (Colombia) 78
5. Kevin Quintero (Colombia) 73

Women’s sprint - Top 5
1. Mathilde Gros (France) 110 points
2. Kelsey Mitchell (Canada) 101
3. Shanne Braspenninckx (Netherlands) 95
4. Steffie van der Peet (Netherlands) 89
5. Martha Bayona (Colombia) 85

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After a great debut season, the UCI Track Champions League is back for season two, with Laura Kenny joining the party. You can watch it all live and on demand on discovery+. We will have extensive coverage across eurosport.com.