The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the

European Cycling Union European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

(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 The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

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 , translation: Time for bright victories! , nations participating = 50 , athletes participating = 4,082 , events = 200 in 15 sports , opening ceremony = 21 June , closing ceremony = 30 June , officially opened ...

in Minsk, these events are not regarded as European Championships but as the Cycling programme of the

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic Games, Olympic tradition contested by sportsperson, athletes from European nations and several European Olympic Committees#Notes, transcontinental countries. The Games were ...

, 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

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 The UEC European Champion jersey is the distinctive, identifiable jersey that the winner of a bicycle race receives at European Cycling Championships organized by the European Cycling Union (UEC), such as the European Road Championships and the Eu ...

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 The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...

by the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in 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 Katie Archibald, (born 12 March 1994) is an elite Scottish and British racing cyclist, specialising in endurance track cycling events in which she represents Great Britain and Scotland. A member of the Great Britain 2016 Olympic champion and ...

of Great Britain, who has won, as of the

2023 UEC European Track Championships The 2023 UEC European Track Championships were the thirteenth edition of the elite UEC European Track Championships in track cycling and took place at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland, from 8 to 12 February 2023. Schedule A = ...

, 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.

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 The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

in which no age limit applied, and the world's best track cyclists competed. 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 Motor-paced racing and motor-paced cycling refer to cycling behind a pacer in a car or more usually on a motorcycle. The cyclist (or stayer in this case) follows as close as they can to benefit from the slipstream of their pacer. The first 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.

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

Elite Competitions (2010-present)

Editions

Venues

All-time medal table (2010–2023)

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

, 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 Jeffrey Hoogland (born 16 March 1993) is a Dutch track cyclist. He represented his nation in three editions of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. At the 2015 UEC European Track Championships, he collected a total of th ...

on 14 gold medals and 18 medals total, the same numbers as Archibald's Madison and team pursuit partner

Laura Kenny Dame Laura Rebecca Kenny, Lady Kenny ( Trott; born 24 April 1992) is a British track and road cyclist who specialises in track endurance events, specifically the team pursuit, omnium, scratch race, elimination race and madison disciplines. Wi ...

. Kenny was the first rider to reach ten championship jerseys, a feat only equalled by Archibald, their fellow Brit

Elinor Barker Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track racing cyclist, who last rode professionally on the road for UCI Women's Team . Representing Great Britain in international competitions, Barker is an Olympic champion, a two- ...

, Hoogland, and Russian sprint pair

Anastasia Voynova Anastasia Sergeyevna Voynova ( rus, Анастасия Сергеевна Войнова, , ɐnəstɐˈsʲiɪ̯ə ˈvoɪ̯nəvə; born 5 February 1993) is a Russian professional track cyclist. She won the bronze medal in the 500 m time trial ev ...

and

Daria Shmeleva Daria Mikhailovna Shmeleva ( rus, Дарья Михайловна Шмелёва, , ˈdarʲɪ̯ə ʂmʲɪˈlʲɵvə; born 26 October 1994) is a Russian professional track cyclist. She rode at the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships along ...

. ''up to date after

.''

Male

Female

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

in 2014:

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 Harrie Lavreysen (born 14 March 1997) is a Dutch track cyclist who competes in sprint events. He is two-time Olympic gold medalist, having won the sprint and team sprint event at the 2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also kn ...

of the Netherlands, and

Lea Friedrich Lea Sophie Friedrich (born 7 January 2000) is a German professional track cyclist. In October 2019, she won the silver medal in the women's team sprint event at the 2019 UEC European Track Championships. Major results ;2017 :National Junior T ...

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':''

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 parenthesis 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

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.

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

.''

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.

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. * 2008,2014,2015 have share medals.

Disciplines

UEC European Track Championships (under-23 & junior) The European Track Cycling Championships (under-23 & junior) are a set of competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists under the ages of 23 and 18, and regulated by ...

UEC European Track Championships – Men's omnium The Men's omnium at the European Track Championships was first competed in 2010. Prior to 2010, there were two elite omniums held annually: an endurance omnium and a sprint omnium. The Omnium consists of six different competitions over two days. ...

UEC European Track Championships – Men's madison The Men's madison is one of the disciplines of the annual UEC European Track Championships. It was first competed as a separate event in 1895. European championships Madison events were later held as European Criterion or Winter Championship (1 ...

UEC European Track Championships – Men's sprint The Men's sprint at the European Track Championships was first competed in 2010 in Poland, and has been held in each championships since. With three gold medals and a bronze from four championships, the event has been dominated by Russia's Denis Dm ...

UEC European Track Championships – Men's team sprint The Men's team sprint at the European Track Championships was first competed in 2010 in Poland. The Team sprint consists of a qualifying, followed by a final and the race for the bronze medal. Germany have been the most successful nation in the ...

UEC European Track Championships – Derny The race behind derny is one of the 2 motor-paced racing disciplines of the annual UEC European Track Championships. Since late 1961, private organizers of track cycling events organized championships (European Criterion or Winter championship) ...

UEC European Track Championships – Stayer The stayer race is one of the 2 motor-paced racing disciplines of the annual UEC European Track Championships. In the past, private organizers of track cycling events organized championships (European Criterion or Winter championship) during th ...

* UEC European Track Championships – Women's omnium *

UEC European Track Championships – Women's madison The Women's madison at the UEC European Track Championships will be completed for first time in 2016 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. Medalists References

European Track Championships – Women's madison, Events at the European ...

* UEC European Track Championships – Women's sprint * UEC European Track Championships – Women's team pursuit

Notes

References

External links

Official website of the 2010 European Track Cycling Championships
{{International cycling European cycling championships

European Track Championships 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) ...