European Champion Jersey
European Champion jersey until 2015

The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the European Cycling Union (UEC). They were first held in their current format in 2010, when elite level cyclists competed for the first time following an overhaul of European track cycling.

Background

The UEC agreed with the governing bodies of six other major European sports from 2018 to integrate its four Olympic-class events, including track cycling, into the new European Championships event on a quadrennial basis. Beginning with 2018, every fourth edition of the competition will form part of the multi-sport event.

While track cycling also forms part of the 2019 European Games in Minsk, these events are not regarded as European Championships but as the Cycling programme of the European Games, and the UEC event will also be held later in the same year. Conversely, the events held in Glasgow in 2018, and Munich in 2022 as part of the multi-sport European Championships are treated as official UEA championships

Format

In line with cycling tradition, winners of an event at the championships are presented with, in addition to the gold medal, a special, identifiable jersey. This UEC European Champion jersey is a white and blue jersey with gold stars. Gold stars on a blue background have been an identifiably European symbol since the adoption of the Flag of Europe by the Council of Europe.

The most successful nation since the inauguration of the elite event is Great Britain, the event's genesis coinciding with Britain's rise to dominance in world track cycling. The most successful individual rider in the history of the Elite event is Katie Archibald of Great Britain, who has won, as of the 2023 UEC European Track Championships, 20 European titles. Among nations in the championships, aside from Great Britain itself, only Russia, Germany, Netherlands and France have won more gold medals than Archibald.

Pre-History

The first European Track Championships were held in Berlin in 1886 and featured only 5 km and 10 km men's scratch races.[1]

Age group championships

Prior to 2010, championship events were run under the same name, but solely for junior and under-23 cyclists, and the 2010 event is recognised as the first elite level senior championships. Since 2010, separate annual European championships for under-23 and junior riders have continued, described explicitly as such.

European Track Cycling Championships have been held for junior and under-23 athletes for a long time, though records in earlier editions are incomplete. They provided useful experience for young riders with winners automatically qualifying to compete at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in which no age limit applied, and the world's best track cyclists competed.[2]

A European Masters Track Championships also exists for riders over 35 years old.

Derny, Madison and Omnium championships

Men's European Track Championships for the "motor-paced" or "derny" track cycling discipline have been held since 1896. A separate European Madison championship event was also run for men.

Separate elite European Omnium Championships have been held since 1959, which were later incorporated into the senior European Track Championships on their introduction in 2010.[3][4]

Founding of the modern Elite Championships

In 2010 the UEC instigated a significant overhaul of how cyclists qualify for the Olympic Games. As a result, the European Championships was also introduced for elite level European cyclists. The first elite championships thereafter took place at the beginning of November 2010. It followed the same ten event schedule for the 2012 Olympics but also included the Madison "due to popular demand".[5]

The Under 23 and Junior championships thereafter were run as an annual separate event.

Elite Competitions (2010-present)

Editions

NumberYearDateCountryCityVelodromeEvents
120105–7 November PolandPruszkówBGŻ Arena11
2201121–23 October NetherlandsApeldoornOmnisport Apeldoorn13
3201219–21 October LithuaniaPanevėžysCido Arena[6]13
4201318–20 October NetherlandsApeldoornOmnisport Apeldoorn[7]13
5201416–19 October FranceBaie-Mahault, GuadeloupeVélodrome Amédée Détraux19
6201514–18 October  SwitzerlandGrenchenVelodrome Suisse21
7201619–23 October FranceSaint-Quentin-en-YvelinesVélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines22
8201718–22 October GermanyBerlinVelodrom23
92018[lower-alpha 1]2–7 August Great BritainGlasgowSir Chris Hoy Velodrome22
10201916–20 October NetherlandsApeldoornOmnisport Apeldoorn22
11202011–15 November BulgariaPlovdivKolodruma22
1220215–9 October  SwitzerlandGrenchenTissot Velodrome22
132022[lower-alpha 2]11–16 August GermanyMunichNeue Messe München22
1420238–12 February  SwitzerlandGrenchenTissot Velodrome22
15202410–14 January NetherlandsApeldoornOmnisport Apeldoorn22

Venues

UEC European Track Championships is located in Europe
2010
2010
2011, 2013, 2019, 2024
2011, 2013, 2019, 2024
2012
2012
2016
2016
2015, 2021, 2023
2015, 2021, 2023
2017
2017
2022
2022
2018
2018
2020
2020
UEC European Track Championships is located in Caribbean
2014
2014

All-time medal table (2010–2024)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Great Britain553528118
2 Germany454335123
3 Netherlands36233392
4 France313635102
5 Russia31303293
6 Italy24262575
7 Belgium10161036
8 Denmark1011728
9 Spain98724
10 Poland8172247
11 Portugal68519
12 Lithuania63817
13 Czech Republic52714
14 Ukraine491427
15  Switzerland37515
16 Norway3104
17 Belarus27615
18 Austria1113
19 Greece0336
20 Ireland0246
21 Hungary0101
22 Israel0011
 Romania0011
Totals (23 entries)289289289867

Most successful riders

Below is a table of the most successful male and female riders at the European Track Cycling Championships from 2010 onwards. The most successful rider of either sex is Katie Archibald, with 20 European titles and 26 medals; in the history of the Championships, only Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy and Russia, in addition to her own nation, have won more gold medals than Archibald. The most successful male athlete is Dutch sprinter Jeffrey Hoogland on 14 gold medals and 18 medals total, the same numbers as Archibald's Madison and team pursuit partner Laura Kenny. Kenny was the first rider to reach ten championship jerseys, a feat only equalled by Archibald, their fellow Brit Elinor Barker, Hoogland, and Russian sprint pair Anastasia Voynova and Daria Shmeleva.

up to date after 2023 UEC European Track Championships.

Male

No Athlete Nation 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total Years Events
1 Jeffrey Hoogland  Netherlands 15 2 2 19 2015-2024 Team sprint, sprint, Kilo and keirin
2 Harrie Lavreysen  Netherlands 12 1 2 15 2017-2024 Team sprint, sprint and keirin
3 Ben Thomas  France 9 2 4 15 2014-2023 Team pursuit, Points race, Scratch race and omnium
4 Elia Viviani  Italy 8 1 3 12 2012-2022 Team pursuit, Points Race, Eliminator, omnium and Madison
5 Maximilian Levy  Germany 6 2 1 9 2010-2020 Team sprint, sprint and keirin
Sebastián Mora  Spain 6 0 1 7 2015-2022 Scratch race, Points race, Madison and omnium.
Andy Tennant  Great Britain 6 0 0 6 2010-2016 Team pursuit, individual pursuit.

Female

No Athlete Nation 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total Years Events
1 Katie Archibald  Great Britain 20 5 1 26 2013-2023 Team pursuit, individual pursuit, Scratch race, points race,

Eliminator, omnium and Madison.

2 Laura Kenny  Great Britain 14 3 1 18 2010-2020 Team pursuit, Scratch race, Eliminator, omnium and Madison.
3 Anastasia Voynova  Russia 13 6 2 21 2012-2021 Team sprint, sprint and 500 m time trial
4 Daria Shmeleva  Russia 12 3 6 21 2012-2021 Team sprint, sprint, keirin and 500 m time trial
5 Elinor Barker  Great Britain 10 2 1 13 2013-2023 Team pursuit, Eliminator, Madison and Scratch race.

Golden 'hat-tricks'.

No rider has won four gold medals at a single championships. The following riders have won a 'hat-trick' of three gold medals at a single championships on at least one occasion, the first being the Russian sprinter Anastasia Voynova in 2014: Katie Archibald of Great Britain has achieved the feat on three occasions, a record, with three different combinations of events, and is the only rider to achieve a 'hat-trick' without winning gold in either the team pursuit or team sprint. The most hat-tricks claimed in one championships was in the 2023 championships when Archibald and sprinters Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands, and Lea Friedrich of Germany won three golds apiece. Uniquely, all three won their respective 'Olympic' trebles by winning all three available golds in their Olympic events - Team pursuit, Omnium and Madison for Archibald, Team sprint, sprint and keirin for Lavreysen and Friedrich, a feat achieved by no rider prior to 2023.

Riders are listed in order of their first 'hat-trick':

Rider Nation Hat-tricks Years Events
Anastasia Voynova  Russia 2 2014 Sprint, Team sprint, 500m TT
2019 Sprint, Team sprint, 500m TT
Jeffrey Hoogland  Netherlands 2 2015 Sprint, Team sprint, Kilo
2021 Team sprint, Keirin, Kilo
Katie Archibald  Great Britain 3 2016 Team pursuit, Pursuit, Elimination race
2021 Omnium, Madison, Scratch race
2023 Team pursuit, Omnium, Madison
Harrie Lavreysen  Netherlands 2 2023 Sprint, Team sprint, Keirin
2024 Sprint, Team sprint, Keirin
Laura Kenny  Great Britain 1 2016 Team pursuit, Omnium, Scratch race
Daria Shmeleva  Russia 1 2018 Sprint, Team sprint, 500m TT
Emma Hinze  Germany 1 2022 Sprint, Team sprint, 500m TT
Lea Friedrich  Germany 1 2023 Sprint, Team sprint, Keirin

Most successful in each event

22 Events are held as part of the European championships. The table below summarises the most successful athlete and nation in each of the 22 separate events. The numbers in parentheses represent the number of golds, silvers and bronze respectively won by the athlete or nation in that specific event. Athletes and nations are differentiated in the standard way, first by number of golds, then silvers, then bronze medals. Although both the Omnium and Madison had stand alone championships prior to 2010, only those contested at the European Track Cycling Championships from that year forward are included.

The most dominant rider in a single event is Laura Kenny who has won the women's team pursuit on eight occasions. This is also the event where a single nation is most dominant; Great Britain have won nine of the editions of the team pursuit, and medalled on a further two occasions. Kenny is also the most dominant rider in any event for individual riders, with four gold and two silver medals across various editions of the omnium. The records for medals in a single event is the 13 medals won by Russia in the 500 metre time trial.

Katie Archibald holds the unique distinction of having been a European Champion across seven different events; team pursuit (7), individual pursuit (4), Scratch race (1), points race (1), Eliminator (1), omnium (4) and madison(2).

up to date after 2023 UEC European Track Championships.

Best Male Athlete Best Nation (male) Event Best Female Athlete Best Nation (female)
 Jeffrey Hoogland (NED) (7/0/1)  Netherlands (7/0/1) Team Sprint  Anastasiia Voinova (RUS) (7/0/1)

 Daria Shmeleva (RUS)

 Russia (8/0/1)
 Jeffrey Hoogland (NED) (3/2/0)  Netherlands (5/4/1) Sprint  Anastasiia Voinova (RUS) (3/4/0)  Russia (4/4/2)
 Maximillian Levy (GER) (3/0/0)  Germany (6/2/1) Keirin  Lea Friedrich (GER) (3/1/0)  Germany (5/2/1)
 Jeffrey Hoogland (NED) (4/0/0)  Netherlands (5/2/1) Kilo/500m  Daria Shmeleva (RUS) (4/1/2)  Russia (7/2/4)
 Andy Tennant (GBR) (5/0/0)  Great Britain (5/2/5) Team pursuit  Laura Kenny (GBR) (8/0/0)  Great Britain (9/1/1)
 Jonathan Milan (ITA) (2/1/0)  Italy (3/3/1) Individual pursuit  Katie Archibald (GBR) (4/1/1)  Germany (5/3/2)
 Benjamin Thomas (FRA) (3/1/0)  France (4/2/1) Points Race  Kirsten Wild (NED) (2/0/0)  Italy (2/2/1)
 Russia
 Sebastian Mora (ESP) (2/0/0)  Portugal (3/0/0) Scratch race  Kirsten Wild (NED) (1/1/1)  Great Britain (3/3/0)
 Elia Viviani (ITA) (2/1/1)  Great Britain (3/1/3) Omnium  Laura Kenny (GBR) (4/2/0)  Great Britain (8/3/0)
 Albert Torres (ESP) (3/1/0)  Spain (3/1/0) Madison  Amalie Dideriksen (DEN) (2/1/1)
 Julie Leth (DEN)
 Great Britain (3/1/2)
 Elia Viviani (ITA) (2/0/0)
 Matthew Walls (GBR)
 Italy (2/1/0) Elimination  Kirsten Wild (NED) (3/0/0)  Great Britain (3/3/1)

Juniors and U23's and Open Omnium

Exclude Men's Open Madison events from 2001 to 2009 and include Open Omnium events from 2001 to 2009.

NumberYearCountryCityEvents
as European Track Championships
12001 Czech Republic
 Italy
Brno (Under 23)
Fiorenzuola d'Arda (Junior)
25
22002 GermanyButtgen27
32003 RussiaMoscow32
42004 SpainValencia32
52005 ItalyFiorenzuola d'Arda32
62006 GreeceAthens32
72007 GermanyCottbus33
82008 PolandPruszków37
92009 BelarusMinsk37
as UEC European Track Championships (under-23 & junior)
102010 RussiaSaint Petersburg38
112011 PortugalAnadia38
122012 PortugalAnadia38
132013 PortugalAnadia38
142014 PortugalAnadia38
152015 GreeceAthens38
162016 ItalyMontichiari38
172017 PortugalSangalhos44
182018  SwitzerlandAigle44
192019 BelgiumGhent44
202020 ItalyFiorenzuola d'Arda44
212021 NetherlandsApeldoorn44
222022 PortugalAnadia44

All-time medal table (2001-2020)

Exclude Men's Open Madison events from 2001 to 2009 and include Open Omnium events from 2001 to 2009.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Russia146127118391
2 Italy905361204
3 Germany868374243
4 France849779260
5 Great Britain837268223
6 Netherlands464958153
7 Poland396568172
8 Ukraine37231676
9 Belgium30333194
10 Czech Republic24273990
11  Switzerland16212158
12 Denmark1012830
13 Spain8122545
14 Belarus891835
15 Lithuania6151738
16 Greece46818
17 Portugal312621
18 Ireland29617
19 Latvia2125
20 Armenia2002
21 Moldova1214
22 Slovakia1102
23 Slovenia1001
 Turkey1001
25 Austria0123
Totals (25 entries)7307307262186
  • 2008,2014,2015 have share medals.

Disciplines

Notes

References

  1. Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill (2011). Historical Dictionary of Cycling. Scarecrow Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-8108-7175-5.
  2. "UK European Track Championships team". Cycling News. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  3. "European Championship, Track, Omnium, Elite". www.cyclingarchives.com.
  4. "European Championship, Track, Omnium, Elite (F)". www.cyclingarchives.com.
  5. "European Track Championships". Track Cycling News. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  6. "2012 m. Europos dviračių treko čempionatas vyks Panevėžyje". delfi.lt.
  7. "2013 Calendar". uec-federation.eu. Archived from the original on 29 December 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.