Around 300 of the best junior track cyclists are preparing to compete at the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Junior Track Cycling Championships.
Competition will take place between tomorrow and Sunday (August 18) at the Oderlandhalle velodrome in Frankfurt in Germany.
Among the prime medal candidates is 17-year-old American junior national road race champion Megan Jastrab, who has this year earned podiums at two UCI Women Junior Nations’ Cup events.
Britain will be as strong as ever, with national junior individual pursuit champion Zach Bridges a leading rider, while Australia’s Lauren Robards is a strong contender and has impressed while balancing cycling with studying pharmacy.
Hosts Germany will look to the versatile Alessa-Catriona Pröpster, who won the women’s keirin and sprint titles at last month’s European Track Juniors Championships.
Pröpster won a bronze medal in the 500 metres time trial last year in Aigle in Switzerland, but will be eyeing gold this time around.
A huge range of medals are on offer in Germany – in time trial, keirin, individual pursuit, team pursuit, points race, scratch race, sprint, team sprint, omnium and, for men only, madison.
Competition starts tomorrow with several qualifying events and one final, the women’s scratch 7.5 kilometres.
Thursday’s (August 15) medal events are the men’s team pursuit, scratch 10km and keirin, as well as the women’s team pursuit.
On Friday (August 16), medals will be won in the men’s points race and individual pursuit, and the women’s sprint and omnium.
The women’s 500m time trial and individual pursuit finals take place on Saturday (August 17), along with the conclusion of the men’s sprint and omnium events.
The final day sees the men’s and women’s madison finals, along with the men’s kilometre time trial and women’s keirin.
