| UCI Track Cycling World Championships | |
|---|---|
 Rainbow jersey track cycling | |
| Genre | Track cycling |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Inaugurated | 1893 |
| Previous event | 2024 |
| Next event | 2026 |
| Organised by | UCI |
TheUCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set ofworld championship events for the various disciplines and distances intrack cycling. They are regulated by theUnion Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI's predecessor, theInternational Cycling Association (ICA).
Current events include:time trial,keirin,individual pursuit,team pursuit,points race,scratch race,sprint,team sprint,omnium,madison andelimination race. Until 2024, women's events are generally shorter than men's. In 2025 all events have the same length. Events which are no longer held include the motor paced events and tandem events.
World championships were first held in 1893, inChicago, under the ICA. They were for amateurs. Separate professional races were held from 1895, inCologne. Amateurs and professionals competed in separate events until 1993, after which they raced together in "open" races. Championships are open to riders selected by their national cycling association. They compete in the colours of their country.
The winner of ICA championships received a gold medal. The UCI awards a gold medal and arainbow jersey to the winner. Silver and bronze medals are awarded to the second and third place contestants. World champions wear their rainbow jersey until the following year's championship, but they may wear it only in the type of event in which they won it. Former champions can wear rainbow cuffs to their everyday jerseys.
World track championships are allocated to different countries each year. They are run by that country's national cycling association, although the top referees (President of the Commissaire's panel – PCP, Secretary, Starter, and Judge Referee) are International Commissaires appointed by the UCI.
To take advantage of the best weather conditions and reduce the risk of weather-related program changes, the UCI has long organized track world championships in the summer. Until 1966, the competition must by regulation take place on an open-air velodrome. It was not until the 1969 edition, organized at theAntwerps Sportpaleis, that the first championship was held on an indoor velodrome. From 1987, the trend reversed and indoor velodromes took over. From 1987 to 1995, there were five world championships organized on an indoor velodrome. Colombia hosts in 1995 the last track world championship organized outdoor.
| Hosts | Editions hosted |
|---|---|
 France | 17 |
 Germany | 14 |
 Belgium | 13 |
 Italy | 13 |
 Denmark | 11 |
 United Kingdom | 10 |
 Netherlands | 8 |
 Switzerland | 8 |
 Spain | 5 |
 United States | 4 |
 Australia | 3 |
 Canada, Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Colombia | 2 |
 Hong Kong, Belarus, Venezuela, Japan, Norway, Hungary, Uruguay, Chile | 1 |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 148 | 125 | 135 | 408 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 126 | 109 | 97 | 332 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 124 | 99 | 85 | 308 |
| 4 | Italy | 92 | 97 | 107 | 296 |
| 5 | Australia | 87 | 103 | 82 | 272 |
| 6 | Germany | 87 | 81 | 95 | 263 |
| 7 |  Soviet Union | 58 | 50 | 35 | 143 |
| 8 | Belgium | 57 | 59 | 58 | 174 |
| 9 |  United States | 53 | 49 | 51 | 153 |
| 10 | Denmark | 37 | 44 | 40 | 121 |
| 11 |  East Germany | 34 | 31 | 28 | 93 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 33 | 34 | 36 | 103 |
| 13 | West Germany | 29 | 31 | 30 | 90 |
| 14 |  China | 24 | 25 | 22 | 71 |
| 15 |  Russia | 24 | 23 | 28 | 75 |
| 16 | Spain | 21 | 22 | 16 | 59 |
| 17 | Japan | 19 | 18 | 19 | 56 |
| 18 |  New Zealand | 17 | 26 | 32 | 75 |
| 19 | Czechoslovakia | 14 | 9 | 18 | 41 |
| 20 | Belarus | 14 | 2 | 8 | 24 |
| 21 | Poland | 9 | 7 | 9 | 25 |
| 22 | Colombia | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| 23 | Canada | 6 | 20 | 17 | 43 |
| 24 | Austria | 5 | 7 | 11 | 23 |
| 25 | Hong Kong | 5 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 26 |  Ukraine | 4 | 7 | 3 | 14 |
| 27 |  Cuba | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 28 | Czech Republic | 3 | 5 | 7 | 15 |
| 29 |  Ireland | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 30 |  Commonwealth Games Federation | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 31 |  Lithuania | 2 | 8 | 11 | 21 |
| 32 |  Mexico | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| 33 | Norway | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| 34 |  Argentina | 1 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| 35 |  Malaysia | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 36 |  Portugal | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 37 |  South Africa | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 38 | Individual Neutral Athletes | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 39 | Russian Cycling Federation | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 40 |  Luxembourg | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 42 |  Greece | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 43 |  Barbados | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 South Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 45 |  Bohemia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Israel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Latvia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Uruguay | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 49 |  Sweden | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 50 |  Estonia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Liechtenstein | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (52 entries) | 1,158 | 1,143 | 1,146 | 3,447 | |
Updated after the2025 World Championships.
| No | Athlete |  |  |  | Total | Years | Events |
| 1 | Harrie Lavreysen (NED) | 20 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2017–2025 | 1 km time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 2 | Arnaud Tournant (FRA) | 14 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 1997–2008 | 1 km time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 3 | Jeffrey Hoogland (NED) | 11 | 11 | 1 | 23 | 2016–2025 | 1 km time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 4 | Chris Hoy (GBR) | 11 | 8 | 6 | 25 | 1999–2012 | 1 km time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 5 | Florian Rousseau (FRA) | 10 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 1993–2002 | 1 km time trial,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 6 | Urs Freuler (SUI) | 10 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 1978–1989 | Keirin,Points race,Team Pursuit |
| 7 | Koichi Nakano (JAP) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1977–1986 | Sprint |
| 8 | Cameron Meyer (AUS) | 9 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 2009–2018 | Madison,Points race,Team Pursuit |
| 9 | Grégory Baugé (FRA) | 9 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 2006–2019 | Sprint,Team sprint |
| 10 | Daniel Morelon (FRA) | 8 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 1964–1980 | Keirin,Sprint,Tandem |
| No | Athlete | | | | Total | Years | Events |
| 1 | Anna Meares (AUS) | 11 | 10 | 6 | 27 | 2003–2015 | 500 m time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 2 | Kristina Vogel (GER) | 11 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 2012–2018 | Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 3 | Félicia Ballanger (FRA) | 10 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1994–1999 | 500 m time trial,Sprint |
| 4 | Victoria Pendleton (GBR) | 9 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 2005–2012 | 500 m time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 5 | Kirsten Wild (NED) | 9 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 2011–2021 | Madison,Omnium,Points race,Scratch |
| 6 | Sarah Hammer (USA) | 8 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 2006–2017 | Individual Pursuit,Omnium,Points race,Team Pursuit |
| 7 | Lea Friedrich (GER) | 8 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2020–2023 | 500 m time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 8 | Emma Hinze (GER) | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 2019–2023 | 500 m time trial,Keirin,Sprint,Team sprint |
| 9 | Natalya Tsylinskaya (BLR) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2000–2007 | 500 m time trial,Sprint |
| 10 | Chloé Dygert (USA) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2016–2025 | Individual Pursuit,Team Pursuit |
Harrie Lavreysen won the most individual titles with 13.Félicia Ballanger is the female athlete with most individual titles with ten.
Lavreysen is also the only rider to win four gold medals in a single edition, in 2025.
22 Events are held as part of the World 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.
| Event | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Male Athlete | Best Nation (male) | Best Female Athlete | Best Nation (female) | |
| Team sprint (men/women)[5] | Arnaud Tournant (FRA) (9/1/0) | France (11/6/6) | Pauline Grabosch (GER) (5/0/0) | Germany (8/0/4) |
| Sprint (men/women) | Koichi Nakano (JAP) (10/0/0) | France (22/28/35) | Galina Yermolayeva (URS) (6/5/3) | Soviet Union (21/18/9) |
| Keirin (men/women) | Chris Hoy (GBR) (4/1/0) | Netherlands (7/4/5) | Anna Meares (AUS) (3/3/1) | Germany (7/0/3) |
| Kilo/500m (men/women)[6] | Arnaud Tournant (FRA) (4/2/1) | France (11/10/8) | Natalya Tsylinskaya (BLR) (4/1/0) | France (6/1/2) |
| Team pursuit (men/women)[7] | Rasmus Pedersen (DEN) (4/0/2) | Australia (13/3/4) | Laura Kenny (GBR) (4/4/1) | United States (16/9/9) |
| Individual pursuit (men/women)[8] | Filippo Ganna (ITA) (6/1/1) | Italy (18/13/15) | Tamara Garkuchina (URS) (6/1/0) | Great Britain (8/6/3) |
| Points Race (men/women) | Urs Freuler (SUI) (8/0/0) | Switzerland (13/2/0) | Ingrid Haringa (NED) (4/0/0) | Russia (8/5/3) |
| Scratch race (men/women) | Franco Marvulli (SUI) (2/0/0) | France (3/1/2) | Yoanka González (CUB)(3/2/0) | Netherlands (7/5/2) |
| Omnium (men/women) | Benjamin Thomas (FRA) (3/3/0) | Australia (3/3/2) | Laura Kenny (GBR) (2/3/0) | Great Britain (4/5/0) |
| Madison (men/women) | Joan Llaneras (ESP) (3/2/0) | France (6/2/0) | Kirsten Wild (NED)(3/1/0) | Great Britain (3/1/2) |
| Elimination (men/women) | Elia Viviani (ITA) (3/1/1) | Italy (3/1/1) | Lotte Kopecky (BEL) (2/2/0) | Belgium (2/2/1) |
ArgentinaAustralia
AzerbaijanAustriaBelarusBelgium
BrazilCanadaChile
Chinese TaipeiCubaDenmark
FinlandFranceGreat BritainGreeceHong KongHungary
IndiaIrelandItalyJapanKazakhstanLithuania
MalaysiaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandPolandPortugalRussia
SlovakiaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSwitzerlandTrinidad and TobagoUkraineUnited States
UzbekistanVenezuela
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