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The 2026 UEC European Track Cycling Championships wrapped up in Konya on February 5 after five days of racing that drew many of Europe’s and the world’s leading track cyclists to the ultra-modern Konya Olympic Velodrome.
Staged from February 1–5, the event was delivered under the coordination of the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, with Türkiye Cycling Federation serving as host, and with Sport Toto and Turk Telekom named as main sponsors, alongside support from the Konya Governorship and Konya Metropolitan Municipality.
Across women’s and men’s competitions, the championships were made up of 22 races across 11 disciplines, with riders lining up in events including Team Pursuit and Team Sprint (team-based races), Sprint and Keirin (short, explosive formats), as well as Madison, Omnium, and Scratch (endurance-oriented races with differing rules).
Time Trial and Individual Pursuit formats also featured, alongside Points Race and Elimination, which test both speed and race tactics. Over the course of the week, the men’s individual sprint and the women’s time trial stood out as particularly fast and closely contested disciplines.
Beyond the sporting schedule, the Konya championships also carried a milestone for the host nation, as it marked the first time Türkiye staged a European championship in the track cycling discipline.
A central storyline running through the week was the continued run of world records linked to the Konya Olympic Velodrome. The venue was described as having seen a total of eight world records broken within less than a year, helping it get talked about as “the world’s fastest velodrome” in track cycling circles.
Several of those record moments were tied to performances referenced from 2025 and then updated during the 2026 championships. In March 2025, at the UCI Track Nations Cup held in Konya, China’s Yuan Liying had set a women’s sprint world record with 9.976 seconds. That mark was then lowered at the 2026 European championships by Great Britain’s Emma Finucane, who brought the time down to 9.759 seconds.
Konya’s record narrative also included an August attempt in which Matt Richardson set a men’s time trial world record of 8.941 seconds. Richardson then went on to reinforce his reputation during the European championships by picking up two gold medals across the event, with the text describing him as renewing his standing as the fastest cyclist.
The venue’s record list also extended into para-cycling, where an August effort saw Sweden’s Will Bjergfelt set a C5 UCI Hour Record at 51.471 km, beating the previous mark by more than three kilometers and becoming the first para-cyclist in that category to move past the 50 km barrier.
During the 2026 championships themselves, Great Britain posted a women’s team pursuit world record of 4:03.634 before improving it again to 4:02.808. Denmark also delivered a men’s team pursuit world record of 3:39.977. Another major highlight came through Great Britain’s Josie Knight, who recorded a 4:19.461 world record, surpassing an earlier benchmark noted as having been set in Mexico by Vittoria Bussi at 4:23.65.
The championships also played out as a tight contest between national teams, with Great Britain finishing top of the medal table with 13 medals. Belgium and Germany followed with nine each, while France, the Netherlands, and Italy were listed among the most successful nations with six medals apiece. In total, 11 countries won medals over the five-day program, as Konya staged what was framed as Europe’s top-tier track cycling showdown.
On the individual side, Great Britain’s Matthew Richardson emerged as the leading men’s performer, reaching three medals overall and taking gold in both sprint and keirin. In the women’s events, Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky topped the standings with three gold medals, while Anna Morris and Josie Knight in the women’s races, and Tobias Hansen in the men’s races, were also highlighted for winning multiple medals across disciplines.
UEC President Enrico Della Casa, speaking about the Konya championships, underlined the technical level of racing and the quality of hosting. He said the week had featured an extremely high level of competition and technically excellent races, while also linking athletes’ performances and the track’s speed to where European track cycling now stands.
He added that Konya had offered hosting above international standards through its modern and fast velodrome, strong infrastructure, organizational quality, and hospitality, and he closed by thanking the Türkiye Cycling Federation, institutions involved, volunteers, and spectators for helping make the championships distinctive.
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