The final countdown of the new series of the uci Track Champions League begins this Saturday at Saint Quentin-en-Yveline in France, with Britain's Katie Archibald, New Zealand's Ellesse Andrews and Canada's Dylan Bibic hoping to renew their overall win in 2023 .

"I can't wait to get back on track and try to defend my title from last year. This season has had some ups and downs for me," Archibald said in a statement before the series. "But this is an opportunity to finish it on the high. I want to race well and make the most of the form I have - especially in front of the home crowd at Lee Valley Velodrome.

As Archibald said, she has had a roller coaster with 2 unusual accidents so far this year 2024.1 of them missed the Olympics because of a broken leg dropped near their home, and then because of a dislocated shoulder in the 3-day series in London. In the meantime, Scott won gold in Team Pursuit at the Track World Championships and bronze at Madison. The 2024 Track Champions League will be the first meeting since the 2024 Olympics between Dutch sprinter Harry Lavreysen, who won 3 gold medals, and sprint rival Matthew Richardson.

Lavreysen won another 3 gold medals at the World Championships, but richardson - a Triple Olympic medallist - had to wait until the recent switch of nationality from Australia to England was completed before returning to the competition. But he is now anxious to go to the Track Champions League again.

According to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Richardson said at a pre-league press conference: "After the post-match break, I was able to practice as much as possible mainly here." "In my new situation, there are many challenges waiting for me. I am very interested to see how it will be. I especially look forward to the games in London.

Other star names in the Sprint and endurance events include 2023 series runner・up Will Tidball (UK), 2022 General Champion Claudio Imhof (Switzerland), 2024 Track World Champions Anna Morris and Emma Finucane (UK), and The 2024 Olympic Double gold medalist will include Andrews. 

The race in the 5-round event began at the Vélodrome National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, a venue that witnessed many battles for Olympic glory last summer, on Saturday 11/23

a week later, the 2nd and 3rd rounds will be held separately at the Appeldoorn Velodrome in the Netherlands. Round 4 will take place at London's Lee Valley Belopark and Round 7 will take place at the same Lee Valley Belopark.

Divided into endurance and sprint events with 36-strong fields in each category, all rounds of the Track Champions League have the same race program

Each category has 2 races where sprinters can score points in both sprint and keirin events. There are three different types of races and endurance riders are offered an overall battle of 4 titles that may lead to the final event of the entire series in London.

The UCI Track Champions League will be accessible worldwide through WBD Sports' extensive network including Max, Eurosport and discovery+, as well as a host of broadcast partners.