UCI Track Champions League 2023 as it happened - Katie Archibald and Harrie Lavreysen among winners on opening night

Not a bad first night of racing, all told. We had a few spills, but they were vastly outnumbered by the thrills in Mallorca. The racers make their to Berlin with a pretty high standard set already. It's great to have a surprise leader in the men's endurance standings, in the form of Eiya Hashamoto, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Mark Stewart will come roaring back on his own bike next weekend. The women's sprint competition also looks to be wide open and the German talent pool has shown quite how deep it is, even without its most celebrated stars. The women's endurance and men's sprint competitions are pretty much as you'd expect - but it's a joy to watch Katie Archibald race, and to hear from her afterwards. And Harrie Lavreysen, what can we say? Genuine class. See you next Saturday.

Women's endurance standings:

1. Katie Archibald 37 points
2. Lily Williams
3. Anita Stenberg

Men's endurance standings:

1. Eiya Hashamoto 31 points
2. Dylan Bibic 25
3. Tuur Dens 24

Women's sprint standings:

1. Alessa-Catriona Propster 35 points
2. Martha Bayona 32
3. Ellesse Andrews 30

Men's sprint standings:

1. Harrie Lavreysen 40 points
2. Tom Derache 30
3. Matthew Richardson 26

Ellesse Andrews
Martha Bayona
Nicky Degrendele
Lauriane Genest
Kelsey Mitchell
Alessa-Catriona Propster

The final race of the night in Mallorca, five laps left, and we have a feast in store. A world champion, an Olympic champion, and four more very very fast women. Martha Bayona has to borrow a front wheel from compatriot Kevin Quintero, which is why there's a bit of a delay. While we wait we catch a closeup of the derny, which has a smashed wing mirror. Rob Hatch jokes that the pilot has been out doing Deliveroo in the break.

Finally we're underway. Can the two Canadians connive to a victory for one of them? Technically they're not supposed to but these things do happen.

Genest right behind the electric bike, Propster behind her, Mitchell at the back, Andrews in the middle. Genest waits for someone else to make the first move and Andrews comes up with 500 to go. At the bell Andrews leads, not budging, Bayona barging forwards but Andrews hangs on to win in the rainbow stripes. What a debut for the Kiwi!

Tom Derache
Vasilijus Lendel
Tijmen van Loon
Matthew Richardson
Harrie Lavreysen
Kevin Quintero

It's the big one. A bit of a lottery but it's a big opportunity for someone to take a march on the other big names here. Derache in position one behind the derny, Quintero behind him. One lap left on the bike, and then an all out sprint. Derache watches his right, Richardson waits at the very back. Lavreysen wants to know where the Australian is at all times. Here goes Kevin Quintero with Lendel beneath him. Lavreysen and Richardson closing fast but only the Dutchman is fast enough. it's Harrie Lavreysen's first perfect night in two years. Quintero in second, which is a solid result for him.

It's the final endurance event of the night. Who is going to top the table in the women's competition, and wear that much coveted jersey next weekend in Berlin?

Watch your six, that's the rule. The first rider kicking themselves will be the Belgian, Helene Hesters, who was a bit casual there. Second out is Amalie Olsen, a big name, and a surprise. Gillespie in green moves up for Ireland to safety and it's Gaxiola of Mexico who can't get out of trouble at the bottom. Cumming moves up for New Zealand, just about sneaks thoguh at the top, to force Selva out of the competiton. It's a high pace. Cumming again does it the hard way and goodbye Maaki Brandwagt. Can Cumming do it again? She can't. Out in 13th at the bottom of the track this time. Dani Khan has to move up, she does, but it's at the expense of Sophie Lewis. The field shrinks further with another Brit out, Kate Richardson next.

Lily Williams comes round the long way and it's Baleiyseite who is gone next. Neah Evans is who Williams sends to the centre on lap... whatever this is. Eight riders left. It's the Canadian, Van Dam, at the bottom who has nowhere to go but out of the race next. Khan with work to do, but room to ride and Gillespie of Ireland who finishes in 7th place. Can Williams do it again? She can! Khan ghan finally. Getting interesting now, as Sevcikova gives up the ghost and Coles Lyster has to do a big turn to get back to the front three. Out in 4th it is the Canadian who pays for that acceleration. Stenberg riding well, Archibald not mentioned yet, Williams is gone. Between the British star and Anita Stenberg for the win, there goes Katie Archibald, doing what she does better than anyone else in the world. Her first win of this year's Champions League, which comes with the overall lead.

Heat 1 - Lauriane Genest wins!
Wang
Degrendele
Huisman
Genest
Marchant

Back with the sprinters. Bit of an unknown five, at least as far as the TCL is concerned but the odds are better in this one than the other two heats, because it's two from five to go through. Here comes the derny. Wang has drawn first position behind the bike, Degrendele on her wheel. How will Katy Marchant fare? The derny departs and they stay in position, no-one making an early move. Degrendele moves up with two laps to go and Genest moves just before the bell. Genest opens up a big lead at turn two and a comfortable win for the Canadian, with Nicky Degrendele joining her in the final.

Heat 2 - Martha Bayona wins!
Bayona
Mitchell
Walsh
Lendel
Thomas
Finucane

Tougher heat, you'd think this one. Maybe not any of them can do it, but there's at least three riders who you'd fancy. Can Mitchell make it two Canadians in the final? Bayona starting in position one, Mitchell two, Lendel third wheel. A bit of laying off and it's Lowri Thomas to the front, with Finucane on her wheel. Lendel moves with 500m to go, Mitchell with work to do. At the bell it's between Bayona and Finucane but Mitchell makes her way up, navigates her way to the front and joins Martha Bayona in the final.

Heat 3 - Ellesse Andrews wins!
Stone
Vece
Capewell
Andrews
Biletska
Propster

We've got the keirin world champion in this one, new star of the track, Ellesse Andrews. But we also have the women's sprint leader, Alessa-Catriona Propster - we know now, if we didn't before, how fast she is. All in order, here we go.

Stone follows the derny as it gets up to speed, before peeling off. Some big gaps in this group being left, but Vece has gone for it. A lot of work for the others to do at the bell. Here they come. Andrews comes round Vece first at serious speed and in the end it's the two fastest women, as you'd expect, who go through. Alessa-Catriona Propster has arrived.

We're getting a restart and unfortunately we're down two riders - Theo Reinhart and Quentin Lafarque, for reasons unknown. Mark Stewart is also riding on his partner, Emma Cumming's, bike. That's not what he wants.

The gun goes, the racing starts, then the bell, and the first rider out, this time, is Gavin Hoover of the USA. Nowhere to go. Mark Stewart comes round the long way to save himself and eliminate Roy Eefting, second out. A shake of the head from 57, Schmidbauer, one of the riders who crashed. Perrett comes round the top and out fourth is Buchli. Down to a dozen as 62 Hansen has to work, but it's Mark Stewart who can hang on no more. A blow for him. At the back, Hashamoto does a great job of saving himself and ending Hansen's race. The Japanese rider goes again, and it's the defending champion, Claudio Imhof who is gone. It's getting faster and there are problems for Perrett who doesn't have the legs to save himself.

66, Matthias Guillemette is the next rider out and we're down to 7 riders. Dylan Bibic has work to do but comes round the outside and it's the rider at the bottom, Tuur Dens, of Belgium who can't save himself. Philip Heijnen is unhappy with the rider in front of him but is eliminated nontheless. Hashamoto has sprinted his last, finishes 5th. Four left now, Mora still among them. He starts the lap at the back but can't do it. He's out in 4th. Then there were three. Hester on the front, Tidball on his shoulder, Hester is out.

Bibic vs Tidball. Bibic goes longest and Tidball fights but can't get on terms. Victory for Canada.

Heat 1 - Harrie Lavreysen wins!
Lendel
Landerneau
Dakin
Lavreysen
Romijn
Rudyk

It's the race with the funny little bike, which isn't as funny as it used to be. And it seems the starters pistol isn't working either. Here we go then, finally. Round comes the derny, under the six riders and everything finally seems to be as it should. The derny gradually increasing the speed, with four laps to go, before peeling off. Landerneau is on the wheel, and Dakin gets things moving as the motorbike leaves them. Two laps to go and the two Dutchman are at the back. But Lavreysen has no trouble hitting the front and cruises into the final. It was tighter for second but Vasiljius Lendel of Lithuania it was who hung on to take the second place in the final.

Heat 2 - Matthew Richarson wins!
Kool
Richardson
Derache
Hsieh
Esow
Yakovlev

A lot of pressure on Matthew Richardson here, you'd think. Daan Kool in the worst position, right on the derny's wheel, with Richardson well placed third in line (they willl have drawn lots). He leaves a bit of a gap to rush into. 1.5 laps to go and it's winding up. Kool on the front at the bell, but Richardson takes over and wins easily. Behind him, going through to the final, and having a very good evening, is Tom Derache.

Heat 3 - Kevin Quintero wins!
Spies
Laitonjam
Quintero
Saunders
Truman
Van Loon

Six more, and should be Quintero, the world champion in this competition, but with who else? Joe Truman looked good in the sprint heats but lost out in the semi. There's a slight delay as Saunders is short of a bit of air in his tyres.

Everyone getting into order, with Truman in the awkward first place of the riders behind the derny. Racing gets going with Saunders the first to move, as Spies comes round. Quintero looks comfy but coming round at the bell and storming to the win by 0.74 seconds. He was on a different level in that race. Second place goes to Tijmen van Loon. Truman third for which there are no points.

We don't quite know when racing will resume, or what we will resume with but better safe than sorry.

Back to endurance racing and the men are onto their final event of the night. This is my personal favourite race - to watch but also to compete in. Fast and furious, the last rider to cross the line after every other lap is eliminated until we're down to two riders to duke it out. It's really the first laps that matter in this one. It can be carnage. Love it.

It's a serious start but the first rider caught napping at the bottom is... oh my goodness, that was a huge crash! More than half the bunch taken out by that. Horrible scenes on the boards in Palma. That'll take some sorting out, and surely will mean a bit of a delay, but most are on their feet, thank goodness. The track needs repairing, but hopefully none of the athletes do. There were bits of bike flying everywhere.

Emma Finucane vs Alessa-Catriona Propster - Another set of rainbow bands on display in this one, but I don't think Finucane is the favourite Lavreysen was. Propster wants to take a world champion scalp and she believes she can. No messing around in this one, with a lap to go Finucane goes high from behind and dives down but Propster carries a lead of several bike lengths. Although Finucane was closing she left it far too late. The first big surprise of the night. Germany is truly a production line of female sprint greats.

Harrie Lavreysen vs Tom Derache - the World Champion against 24 year-old Tom Derache, who has already achieved his best ever result in the Track Champions League, simply by getting to the final. 95% of voting viewers think Lavreysen is going to do this one. Hard to disagree, eh?

Just the traditional, two-up match sprint this time. What can the Frenchman manage against golden Harrie? Lavreysen starts in front, ever vigilent, as Derache climbs the banking behind, looking to catch Lavreysen out. Derache has the outside and can just about get ahead leading out at the bell. Here comes the world champion, looking every inch the star that he is. Fair play to Derache for trying, but that was a dominant victory for Harrie Lavreysen.

And it's time for the women's endurance riders with one big question: can anyone beat Katie Archibald? She's the rider the rest will be watching but there is some talent in this field. They take the gun and it's another string round the inside banking. Two laps in and still no attacks, still settling down in the first kilometre. There are five British women in this line-up for those wondering how seriously our girls are taking it.

And the first move comes after six laps, from a rider in yellow, but it's quickly aborted as the rider swings up the track. They can't all play the long game, can they? And there goes Katie, with 12 laps to go. Anita Stenberg is the rider who chases Archibald down and Katie pulls back. The next move comes halfway through from Canadian Sarah Van Dam but that too doesn't last long.

Then it's the turn of two riders, with seven laps remaining, Kate Richardson of Britain and Lily Williams of the USA. Archibald contributes to the chase, but they're not panicing yet. Can these two share the top places between them? Archibald makes a late solo attack but it might be third at best for her. Are they tiring out front? Richardson seems to be. The bell goes and William goes solo to take the win. There's a sprint behind for second taken, just about, by Katie Archibald. That's a solid result for the girl from Glasgow. Maggie Coles-Lyster is in third, Anita Stenberg 4th, Dani Khan in 5th.

Semi-final 1 - Emma Finucane wins!
Kelsey Mitchell
Sophie Capewell
Emma Finucane

A stacked semi-final this one, featuring three of the out and out favourites for the whole thing. Eyes front and back, Finucane starts high and watches from the rear, as Capewell leads and looks over her shoulder. Finucane launches at the bell leaving Mitchell with a lot to do as Emma Finucane makes it look easy and shows the rainbow stripes off at their very best. She controlled that one from the start.

Semi-final 2 - Alessa Propster wins!
Ellesse Andrews
Martha Bayona
Alessa Propster

Ellesse Andrews made the first round look easy, but she's lacking in experience in this kind of three up sprint. She winds it up but Bayona goes through a gap underneath at the bell. Bayona leads at the bottom but Propster is the one with all the speed. The big three German sprinters might not be here, but the black country has no shortage of them.

1. Eiya Hashimoto - 20 points
2. Mark Stewart - 17
3. Tuur Dens - 15
4. Will Perrett - 14
5. Max Schmidbauer - 11

Semi-final 1 - Tom Derache wins!
Mateusz Rudyk
Tom Derache
Joe Truman

Definitely the easier of the semis, this one. Derache on the front, Rudyk the meat in the middle, Trueman on the back. But the Brit comes round by the bell and gives it the beans. Rudyk going long, but it's too long for him, as Derache times his glide to perfection and lands in the final.

Semi-final 2 - Harrie Lavreysen wins!
Harrie Lavreysen
Lars Romijn
Matthew Richardson

I'm not sure how they worked out the seeding but we know already that one of our big names is not going to be in the final tonight. This is a very big race and, with all respect to the Dutchman, I can't see him being in this game.

Lavreysen in rainbows to the front, forcing a slow pace on the opening lap. Richardson comes up on the inside and is watching Romijn a bit but mostly has his eye on Lavreysen. Romijn goes very long and has a gap with one lap to go, but Lavreysen wolfs down that gap and there's nothing Richardson can do about it. The world champion was in the key postion and he made it count. That's a big early advantage for Lavreysen over his rival.

The first sighting of our endurance riders of the evening and the men's field has been widely touted as the strongest it's ever been. Maybe not anyone can win it, but it's really not an easy one to call. Can Claudio Imhof begin his title defence with a bang? What can Will Tidball, the scratch race world champion do? And Mark Stewart, who took this one in style here last time around - he's got to be among the favourites and we know he's riding to win. Sebastian Mora, the only Spaniard in competition, and a lovely chap, will have the home fans behind him.

At just twenty laps this is very short and super fast. It'll all come down to who times it right. Last year we had a couple of laps taken - will we see one tonight? Starting with half the riders on the fence, half held on the black line at the bottom. Buchli, former keirin champion lines up and we're underway for a neutral lap. The gun goes and they're all lined out with Tidball leading the string. No early attacks, but lots of watching around.

It's Imhof who tries an early testing move and has Jules Hester of Belgium for company, plus a couple of others who like the look of it. It becomes a group of four, then five, including Hashamoto and Perrett with 14 laps to go. This is the kind of move that could stick, as Mark Stewart looks to get across from the bunch. Super strong move, but how much will that have cost him? He made it look easy. Halfway through and there are six up the road, with one more< Mora, chasing. The group are working well together.

It's going to be between this group who look set to take a lap, which doesn't mean anything extra, but rules out the rest for good and might make judging the result a bit complicated. Heijnen attacks from the group but the best he can do is eighth spot now. The bell goes and we're on for the sprint. It's a very confusing one to work out but it seemd to be Eiya Hashamoto, who takes twenty points, and Claudio Imhof in second place.

Heat 1 - Kelsey Mitchell wins!
Kelsey Mitchell (Canada)
Lowri Thomas (Great Britain)
Orla Walsh (Ireland)

One strong favourite, and she's on a gold bike to prove it. Mitchell is a bit of a star and she rides like one. She doesn't make it look quite as easy as Lavreysen but no real trouble for Mitchell to get into the semi final here.

Heat 2 - Alessia Propster wins!
Miriam Vece (Italy)
Alessia Propster (Germany)
Ruby Huisman (Netherlands)

The experienced Vece opts for third wheel but their close at the bell, Propster leads from the front and comes through for a clear and comfortable first Track Champions League race win. Except it says Decision Pending on the screen, which means the judges are looking at it for something dodgy.. but they don't find it. Confirmed and it's

Heat 3 - Martha Bayona wins!
Lijuan Wang (China)
Martha Bayona (Colombia)
Lauriane Genest (Canada)

Bayona is a superstar of the Track Champions League and you'd pick her in this one. Cagier start than we've seen so far, with the riders starting high and coming down at the bell. Bayona has work to do but just about manages to do enough, using the full length of the straight. It was one of the closer heats we've seen.

Heat 4 - Sophie Capewell wins!
Nick Degrendele (Belgium)
Sophie Capewell (Great Britain)
Katy Marchant (Great Britain)

Two Brits and one powerhouse Belgian. Sophie Capewell has been on great form recently, but can she show it here? 30 year old Marchant starts on the front, Capewell, watching the rear but comes round with 1.25 laps to go. A bit of a wobblem to keep position and no-one can touch her as they come into the straight. Marchant isn't far off, but Capewell does fine. 1440 watts we're seeing on the screen. Wowza.

Heat 5 - Ellesse Andrews wins!
Migle Lendel (Lithuania)
Ellesse Andrews (New Zealand)
Alla Billetska (Ukraine)

Andrews new to the TCL but a star in the making. This could be very close. It's a watchful start with Andrews eagle-eyed at the back, from above. Lendel goes long and gets going, leaving Andrews with a lot of work to do at the bell. But the Kiwi has immense pace and makes light work of it. She won that by about 20 metres.

Heat 6 - Emma Finucane wins!
Emma Finucane (Great Britain)
Daniela Gaxiola (DNF)
Ellie Stone (Great Britain)

No Gaxiola, who is still in South America, so it's just Finucane, the world champion, against GB team-mate. It's a more typical match sprint start as Stone tries to force Finucane high. But Finucane is wise to everything - she's not wearing rainbows for nothing. They use all of the banking before diving down at the bell, shoulder to shoulder, and Finuncane has no trouble going the long way round.

Heats Heat 1 - Lars Romijn wins
Vasiljius Lendel (Lithuania)
Lars Romijn (Netherlands)
Esow Esow (India)

Three laps, 750m of match sprint. Fast and furious. On board with Esow Esow who leads from the front, before the Dutchman comes round to take the bell. Romijn going fast but Esow on his shoulder… and Romijn carries the speed and is straight through to the semi final.

Heat 2 - Callum Saunders wins!
Kevin Quintero (Colombia)
Tom Derache (France)
Callum Saunders (New Zealand)

Quintero, the world champion in the keirin, is a safe bet for this one. First appearance in the TCL for Saunders. He’s the one on the front and.. We get our first fall of the night as Derache loses his back wheel on the Cote d’Azur at low speed. That’s a bit embarrassing. He’s straight back up, though. We go again. At the second attempt Derache makes it up to speed on Saunders’ wheel, as Quintero watches from behind before going high, coming down and suddenly we’re launching. The bell goes and it’s Derache at the front, through the back straight and he’s straight through to the semi final. Quintero was never in the game and Saunders always had too far too come round.

Heat 3 - Joe Truman wins!
Joe Truman (Great Britain)
Daan Kool (Netherlands)
Mikhail Yakovlev (Israel)

Two newbies versus the very experience Yakovlev, who ought to be the favourite for this one. Truman at the bottom of the track out of the blocks first, Yakovlev going high and sitting back. Quickly up to speed, the Israeli with some work to do at the bell. Truman taking it on.. as the others are coming up fast, but the British rider just about hangs on from Yakovlev.

Heat 4 - Matthew Richardson wins!
Tijmen van Loon (Netherlands)
Sam Dakin (New Zealand)
Matthew Richardson (Australia)

Two more debutants up against the defending champion. What can they do here? He obliges the Dutchman to go first, and opts for the middle position himself for the first lap, with one eye on Dakin. Shoulder to shoulder at the bell, and then Richardson goes. Dakin is out of it by turn three and Richardson is never really challenged, hanging on comfortably.

Heat 5 - Mateusz Rudyk wins!
Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam (India)
Jean Spies (South Africa)
Mateusz Rudyk (Poland)

Ronaldo the new rider might get a schooling from these two old hands, and it’s the Indian man who knows he has to go first and fast. He leads at the bell, but Rudyk comes round him easily, into the home straight and into the semi finals.

Heat 6 - Harrie Lavreysen wins!
Harrie Lavreysen (Netherlands)
Melvin Landerneau (France)
Nien Hsing Hsieh (Chinese Taipei)

No doubt who the fancies rider is in this heat, and it’s the man in rainbows. There’s no pressure on the other two, though and maybe that can play to their advantage? Hsieh goes very long while Landerneau is making Lavreysen do all the work… but the world champion has no problem doing it and sails into the semi finals.

And we start with the men's sprint

Good evening everyone, and welcome to the opening night of the UCI Track Champions League 2023, live from Velòdrom Illes Balears de Palma. Mallorca might be better known as a mecca for road cycling tourists but, thanks to the Track Champions League, it’s rapidly becoming equally synonymous with track racing. Certainly for the next four hours it will be the centre of the cycling world. Our attention will be evenly divided between the muscle-bound sprinters and the lean, mean endurance machines, made up of an all-star line-up of 64 track stars - 32 men and 32 women - who will be busting the boards and giving it everything they’ve got.

The UCI Track Champions League is revolutionising the world of cycling, delivering heart-pounding action in the velodrome like never before.

In this electrifying competition, elite riders from around the globe go wheel-to-wheel in a high-speed battle for supremacy. With its innovative format and thrilling head-to-head match-ups, the league has quickly become a must-watch event for cycling enthusiasts and sports fans alike.

Featuring top-tier sprinters, endurance specialists and rising stars, the UCI Track Champions League showcases the full spectrum of track cycling talent. From blistering sprint races to gruelling endurance events, each competition promises jaw-dropping speed, tactics and drama. The league's cutting-edge technology and world-class venues also ensure an unforgettable spectator experience.

Full details of the event here

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The UCI Track Champions League is back for season three. You can watch it all live and on demand on discovery+. We will also have extensive coverage across eurosport.com.