From August 21 to 25, the world’s best young track cyclists gathered in Luoyang, China. As is often the case in track cycling competitions, the British team finished at the top of the medal table. However, the results varied significantly between the men’s and women’s events, particularly in terms of gold medals.
The Boys: More Bronze Than Gold
Out of the eleven men’s events, only one saw Great Britain claim the top step of the podium. Henry Hobbs took gold in the individual pursuit, producing a stunning comeback in the final laps to beat his Australian rival. He then doubled his medal tally with a silver in the kilometre time trial, finishing behind Tate Ryan, who set a new world record.
In total, the men contributed five medals to the British tally, with three of them being bronze, all featuring one key rider: Finlay Tarling. The younger brother of Joshua Tarling, one of the world’s top time trialists, Finlay seems to be following in his sibling’s footsteps. He finished third in the points race and teamed up with William Salter to take another bronze in the Madison. The team pursuit, one of track cycling’s marquee events, also saw him in action. The British quartet lost their semi-final to Italy, who went on to claim gold with a world record performance. However, they bounced back emphatically in the bronze medal race, clocking a time 1.5 seconds faster than the French, who had taken silver.
A Golden Haul for the Women
With six medals won by the British women, five of them were gold, making for an exceptional performance. The only silver came in the individual sprint, where Georgette Rand, a double European junior champion, impressed on the world stage. She was only beaten by Colombia’s Stefany Cuadrado, a four-time world champion across 2023 and 2024.
Beyond that, it was sheer domination. Cat Ferguson stormed to victory in the omnium, while Erin Boothman and Carys Lloyd comfortably won the Madison. Lloyd then added a second gold in the individual pursuit. Imogen Wolff claimed a tighter victory in the points race. Finally, the British women’s team pursuit squad obliterated the competition, setting a new junior world record and defeating the French quartet by more than five seconds.
After a disappointing 2023 campaign by Britain’s historically high track cycling standards, this year’s championships suggest that several of these rising stars could feature on Team GB’s squad for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
