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PCC Elite Riders Contest the UCI World Track Championships

26 Oct 2025

Three PCC Elite Riders Challenge in Roubiax, France

UCI World Masters Track Championships 2025, Roubaix, France

Credit to Geoff Stoker for his comprehensive report. 

 Worlds were looking pretty good, checking all the training information through the months leading in.

A small hiccup with the change in access to Dunc Grey, the velodrome we are lucky enough to train on through. The changes did affect a good chunk of the time we had to work on time trail starts.

Fist event for me was the time trial and I lined up with an open mind, just not knowing how that was going to work out this year. I finished 4th, a bit of rethinking after the event was finished, with the results being so tight. Only 0.3 seconds covered the top 5 riders. I wasn’t too worried and straight away started getting everything ready for the World Sprint Championship 2 days later.

The last part of preparation for me these last couple of years has been great, working with my Swiss mate Joachim Ritter, speed was looking really good. Qualifying went well, finishing fastest and getting the number one seed for the competition. Day one raced through the early rounds without any problems, getting to day two with only four riders left in the competition to be the World champion for 2025. Being the top-seeded rider, I drew US champion and World record holder Brian Abers in the semi-final. These races are best of 3 heats, which just gives you a second chance if you make a mistake. Sprint match race one I led and controlled it really well, winning from the front with an average speed of right around 61.5kph (11.80 seconds for last 200m). A few races between, and we lined up for round two. The track in Roubaix is notorious for being easier to win from the front and harder to win from second position this is mainly caused by the tight bends also the additional speed needed. My average for heat one was right around 60, to come from the back you would have to be averaging 62.5kph.

So just to be ready for the final for the gold I thought I had better give it a go from second. Abers was on the front and really moving I gave some gap to run into his slipstream and get around him before the finish line. Last bend I was coming around but just ran out of time to get past him on the line. Time for the last 200m was 11.7 about 62kph average for Abers I would have been close to 64kph average to get that close anyway. We then went to a third and deciding match to see who was going for gold.

Just to make sure I thought I had better lead this heat so after the first lap I took the lead holding Abers high on the banking. He turned down the bank at a crazy angle, I tried to get to the bottom of the track before him to cover him but he squeezed past on the duckboards. 375m to go and we are on the way. I gave him a nice gap down the back straight at 125m to go, got out of the seat at 63kph and gave it everything. Into the final turn 2 wide to get around him and powered down the finish straight to make it to the gold medal ride.

Bjoern Andersen from Norway who qualified third was the other rider to win his way through to battle it out for the gold medal. One thing that is a must as a sprint cyclist is watching all your competitors to find out how they like to race if they are better from the front or from the back where and when they like to move in a race. Bjoern likes to take it from the front and he is very fast and strong, he won both his semi final rides leading UK rider Chris Pryat from the front fast and long.

We lined up for the first heat, it surprised me he rolled off the line so slowly but that didn’t last long. One lap down two to go and he put the hammer down. I took a little more height on the bank and jumped past him into the back straight. Travelling at around 55kph I still had him under control. Increasing the speed looking back over my right shoulder picking it up to 60kph, Bjoern was higher on the banking trying to come around into the back straight I put the hammer down. Bjoern only got to my back wheel up the finish straight. Heat one done and one step closer to the World championship. A bit of a break while they had other races and victory ceremonies we lined up for the second race. Because Bjoern led the first race I started lower on the start line and was obligated to lead for the first 125m. I rolled of the line slightly faster than Bjoern just a small hope that he would just sit there and let me control the speed and the length of the sprint. No chance coming into the last two laps Bjoern decided he wanted to do this in a Norwegian way we were high on the banking with Bjoern jumping around me down the track heading into the last two laps at around 60kph. I jumped with him got just about onto his wheel got as aero as possible and hung on. That lap was done so quick and we headed into the back straight for the last time at just over 60kph. I had about five metres running room so I got out of the seat and gave it everything, got to his back wheel in the final bend, along side entering the finish straight, aero, power and my wheel in front as we crossed the line. Yahoo World Sprint Champion.

 Video for the sprints

https://www.youtube.com/live/ONFLjqSwrcw

First race of the semis is at 33 minutes

The second race of the semis is at 1 hour and 28 minutes

Last race of the semis is at 2 hours and 18 minutes

The first finals race is at 3 hours and 12 minutes

The last final race of the semis is at 3 hours 51 minutes

Team Sprint

It was a quick turnaround, presentation, dinner, shower, sleep, breakfast 7:30 am, heading back to the track to get ready for the team sprint. No tactics today just fastest team wins. We lined up in the last heat countdown started rider one out of the gate 2nd and 3rd riders get on that wheel. Get aero, lap one done he’s out of the way hammer down, aero, more speed, more speed, more speed move up the track 3rd rider comes through to finish it off. Yahoo fastest team to qualify and into the ride off for the gold medal and the World championship. We had a few hours break so got out to get some lunch for the team then back to get ready for the finals. A couple of tweaks to the bikes, change of gear on Alan Townsend’s bike, our starter going just a bit down in gear to get out of the gate quicker. I didn’t see the problem we were 0 to 50kph in 6 seconds in the heat I had to focus just to make sure I got on. For the afternoon some school children had come to the track and had organised cheering songs for the French teams. We had a French team to beat in the finals, we knew the cheering was going to be for the home team. Al got into the start gate I was strapped in, Chris was sitting alongside me. Countdown started..5.4.3.2.1.Aler(GO!). I got onto Alan so well, wow that first lap goes so quick. He got out of the way because we are at speed my lap goes even quicker. I move up Chris comes through to finish it off. No brakes so Iwas rolling around the track higher on the bank checking the scoreboard. Yahoo World Team Sprint Champions.

The funniest thing happened after that.

When you are second rider in a team sprint team you always end up rolling around the track with the fans cheering and no team mates with you. I rolled around the track for a lap or two then I stopped at the top of the track where the school children were sitting. They were super happy I stopped and came down to shake hands and say bon jour. Funny I was recovered enough to teach them how to cheer. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie Oi Oi Oi. They did it and even the teacher got into it

https://www.youtube.com/live/DG5gOYiSxnU Team Sprint is at 11 minutes

If you want to smile and hear those little French children, they are at about 14 minutes 10 seconds.