Emma Finucane and Matthew Richardson will be the leading British names at the Track Cycling World Championships, which begin next Wednesday in Shanghai. For Richardson, the event will above all mark his return to racing after a heavy crash that forced him to miss the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. As in the women’s events, competition will be particularly fierce in the sprint disciplines. The British selection also places significant emphasis on the next generation, with several riders set to make their elite World Championships debuts.
Richardson and Finucane, two British sprint leaders
A little over two months after a crash that could have ended his season, Matthew Richardson will indeed line up at the World Championships. The 27-year-old Briton suffered a particularly heavy accident during a keirin event in Tachikawa, Japan, at the end of July. Hit by Japan’s Gento Suzuki, who was disqualified following the incident, Richardson suffered a fractured shoulder blade as well as a significant hip injury and spent four days in hospital.
The crash had one immediate consequence for his calendar: Richardson was forced to withdraw from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where he had been due to represent England for the first time. The Briton nevertheless recovered quickly, returning to turbo training just one week after the accident before reaching full-intensity efforts a few days later, allowing him to set his sights on the World Championships.
His return in Shanghai will therefore be particularly anticipated, especially given the very high level he had already reached during the first part of the season. In February, he won the European sprint and keirin titles, beating sprint king Harrie Lavreysen in both disciplines. In Shanghai, he will compete in the individual sprint, keirin and team sprint, with the likelihood of once again facing the Dutchman on his route to the medals.
This return with the British delegation is part of a particular journey. Born in Maidstone, Kent, to British parents, Richardson moved to Australia at the age of nine and built his entire sporting career there. He won three medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games under the Australian flag, taking silver in the sprint and keirin and bronze in the team sprint. A few days after the Games, he announced his change of allegiance to represent his country of birth.
Since joining the British programme, Richardson has continued that momentum, firmly establishing himself as one of the two best sprinters in the world. He notably claimed team sprint silver at the 2025 World Championships before becoming the first British man to win the European men’s sprint title in 2026.
In the women’s events, Emma Finucane arrives with a similar status. Olympic team sprint champion in Paris and a triple Olympic medallist in 2024, the Briton has become one of the leading names in women’s sprinting. She also won the individual sprint and team sprint world titles in 2024.
Her 2026 season has further strengthened that position. Finucane notably set a new world record for the flying 200 metres in 9.759 seconds at the European Championships before winning the European sprint title ahead of fellow Briton Sophie Capewell. A few months later, she made her mark at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, where she won four gold medals: team sprint, individual sprint, 1km time trial and keirin. She thus became the first sprint cyclist to win four titles at a single edition of the Commonwealth Games.
A selection focused on the next generation
Behind these two leaders, the British selection includes several riders whose recent progress reflects the desire to prepare for the next Olympic cycle following the retirement of a number of Olympic medallists over the past two years, including Katie Archibald, Katy Marchant and Jack Carlin. Among the men, Harry Ledingham-Horn will be one to watch after his summer in Glasgow, where he won team sprint silver and keirin bronze. He had already claimed a World Championship silver medal in the team sprint in 2025.
Ed Lowe, an Olympic silver medallist in Paris, will meanwhile make his elite World Championships debut after several major events in which other riders had been selected ahead of him. He will be joined by Joe Truman and Richardson in a sprint team targeting the title and potentially facing the other leading nation in the discipline, Australia, in the final.
The next generation is also strongly represented in the endurance events. Brothers Henry and Noah Hobbs will both be in Shanghai. Henry, who will make his elite World Championships debut, arrives with a particularly promising record from the Commonwealth Games for a rider aged just 19: two gold medals, in the team pursuit and scratch race, as well as a bronze in the elimination. Noah, who will compete at his second elite World Championships, has enjoyed a strong road season in Europe, with two stage victories, and is also a former European U23 team pursuit champion.
In the women’s events, Millie Couzens, Erin Boothman and Abi Miller will make their elite World Championships debuts. Couzens has already made her mark this year by winning European gold in the team pursuit and an individual pursuit bronze medal. Boothman, 19, also used the Commonwealth Games to claim her first senior medals, winning two bronze medals for Scotland in the scratch race and individual pursuit.
At just 18, Abi Miller will be the youngest member of the selection. Her move into the senior ranks comes one year after her junior world title in the team pursuit, where, alongside Boothman and their teammates, they set a new junior world record. It is further evidence of the confidence placed by the British programme in a generation expected to gradually take over from the current leading riders.
Men – Endurance
- Matthew Bostock
- Henry Hobbs
- Noah Hobbs
- Mark Stewart
- Ethan Vernon
- Ollie Wood
Men – Sprint
- Harry Ledingham-Horn
- Ed Lowe
- Matthew Richardson
- Joe Truman
Women – Endurance
- Erin Boothman
- Megan Barker
- Millie Couzens
- Josie Knight
- Abi Miller
- Anna Morris
Women – Sprint
- Sophie Capewell
- Emma Finucane
- Rhianna Parris-Smith
- Lowri Thomas
