Once every four years the world’s best track cyclists enjoy the Olympic Games limelight and captivate television audiences around the globe with high-octane gladiatorial racing.
For the rest of the time, road cycling rules and the velodrome specialists, outside of powerhouse nations such as Britain and the Netherlands, live a niche existence.
Cycling’s governing body, the International Cycling Union (UCI), hope that is all about to change as the inaugural Track Champions League was to start yesterday at the Velodrom Illes Balears in Mallorca.
Photo: Reuters
The quick-fire, made-for-TV series featuring 72 of the world’s best riders competing over five weekly rounds is designed to elevate the sport to a new level.
With broadcast partner Discovery Sports Events promising an innovative approach with live rider data and fan engagement, the UCI hopes to hook a new audience and provide riders with the stage to raise their profiles and, more importantly, make a decent living.
Britain’s six-time Olympic track champion Chris Hoy, an ambassador for the new league and who helped devise its format, believes the new series could be a game changer.
“I feel like the sport has always been the poor relation compared to road cycling. So this is what the sport needs, this will give it the boost to take it to the next level,” he said.
The complexities of track cycling, while fascinating for the aficionados, can be mystifying for the casual fans, while even experienced cycling journalists can be left scratching their heads at times during a Madison race.
For that reason, the Track Champions League has adopted a boiled down format with 18 male and 18 female sprinters battling for points in sprint and keirin, and the same number of endurance riders contesting the scratch and elimination races.
Each round of the Champions League would last about three hours, with riders scoring points in every race and results tallied up to decide male and female champions in the sprint and endurance leagues after the final round in Tel Aviv on Dec. 11.
While there are some notable absentees, such as Britain’s golden couple Jason and Laura Kenny, yesterday’s cast in Mallorca was to boast 29 Olympic medals and 63 world titles.
The four overall winners would receive 25,000 euros (US$28,879) with 1,000 euros for the winner of each individual race with equal prize money for male and female riders.
“With the commitment these riders have, they should be getting rewarded,” Hoy said.
Following the Mallorca round, the action moves to Lithuania on Nov. 27, before two rounds in London on Dec. 3 and 4, and the climax in Tel Aviv.
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
RSS