UCI Track World Championships 2026Wednesday 14 Sunday 18 October Shanghai, ChinaFive Irish riders reigning world champion Lara Gillespie leads the teamShanghai Velodrome seven hours ahead of Irish time Gillespies scratch final Wednesday about 12:00 Irish timeReigning world champion Lara Gillespie heads a five-rider Irish team at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai, which start on Wednesday and run until Sunday 18 October.Gillespie arrives in good form and already acclimatised. She finished second overall at the Tour of Chongming Island on the outskirts of Shanghai on Sunday, on the podium of all three stages behind Lorena Wiebes, and the week before that took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle in Switzerland.She won bronze at the 2024 Worlds before taking European and world titles in 2025, and this week she will race the scratch, the omnium and the points race.Aoife OBrien targets the elimination race. Her 2025 was disrupted by injury, but she has built steadily through 2026, with podiums in road races around Europe and a stage win at Rs na mBan with the national team.Emma Jeffers rides the kilo time trial. She made her national team track debut last year at both the European and World Championships, and has had a strong road season, with podiums at Rs na mBan and regular racing in one-day and stage races for Liv AlUla Jayco.Fiona Mangan returns for her second Worlds after her debut in Chile last year and takes on the individual pursuit. She rode her second Tour de France Femmes this summer and has been a regular presence in one-day races through the season.Mangan, Jeffers and OBrien will also form the team pursuit squad with Esther Wong, who took silver in the individual pursuit at Aigle.IRLIreland Track Worlds TeamShanghai 1418 October 2026Lara GILLESPIEScratch Omnium Points raceAoife OBRIENElimination Team pursuitEmma JEFFERSKilo time trial Team pursuitFiona MANGANIndividual pursuit Team pursuitEsther WONGTeam pursuitHow the races workMost of Irelands events this week are endurance races on the 250-metre track, so four laps make a kilometre. Five of the seven are bunch races, where tactics, positioning and a fast finish matter as much as raw power; the other two are races against the clock.Scratch Lara GillespieThe simplest bunch race on the track. Everyone starts together and the first rider across the line at the end of the final lap wins. The final is 40 laps (10km), with the bell rung for the last lap.There are no points and no intermediate sprints, but laps count: a rider or group who breaks clear and catches the back of the bunch has gained a lap, and is placed ahead of every rider they lapped, whoever wins the final sprint. That leaves two ways to win. Attack early and try to gain a lap, or sit in, save energy and back yourself in the sprint. Gillespie, a fast finisher, will want it to come down to the line, and so will Lorena Wiebes.If more than 24 riders enter, there are 7.5km qualifying heats first. Wednesdays field is exactly 24, so it goes straight to the final.Points race Lara GillespieA bunch race decided by points rather than by who crosses the line first. The final is 25km, 100 laps, with a sprint every ten laps, which makes ten sprints in all. Each intermediate sprint pays 5, 3, 2 and 1 point to the first four riders; the final sprint pays double, 10, 6, 4 and 2.The big swings come from laps. Gaining a lap on the bunch is worth 20 points, and being lapped costs 20, so a well-timed attack can be worth more than winning several sprints. If riders finish level on points, the final sprint decides it. It is a race of constant calculation, and riders and coaches track the scores lap by lap.Elimination Aoife OBrienOften called devil take the hindmost. After a neutral start, the last rider across the line every two laps is eliminated and pulled out, judged on the back wheel. It carries on until two riders are left, and they sprint for the title.Positioning is everything. Sitting near the front is safe but costs energy in the wind; drifting to the back risks being caught out by a sudden surge. The best elimination riders read the race and move up just before each sprint. If the field is too big, riders first qualify through 7.5km scratch heats.Omnium Lara GillespieFour bunch races in one day, the decathlon of track endurance racing. In order:Scratch (10km): first over the line wins, as above.Tempo race (10km): from the fifth lap onwards, one point goes to the first rider across the line on every lap, and gaining a lap is worth 20. It rewards riders who are active at the front all race.Elimination: as above, last rider out every two laps.Points race (20km): the finale, scored as above.The first three races award omnium points by finishing position: 40 for the winner, 38 for second, 36 for third, dropping by two a place. Riders carry that total into the points race, where every sprint point and every lap gained or lost is added on or taken off. The highest total wins the title. The omnium often stays open until the last laps, because a single lap gained in the points race can wipe out a 20-point deficit. Gillespie took silver in the omnium at the 3 Days of Aigle last week.Kilo time trial Emma JeffersOne rider, one kilometre, four laps from a standing start, held in the start gate until the countdown ends. It is a flat-out effort of a little over a minute, with no tactics, no drafting and nowhere to hide. Getting the bike up to speed from a standstill is half the race.Every rider sets a time in qualifying, and the eight fastest go through to the final later the same day to ride again for the medals, with the fastest qualifier going last.Individual pursuit Fiona ManganTwo riders start at the same time on opposite sides of the track, half a lap apart, and chase each other over the set distance. It is a test of pacing as much as power: go out too hard and the last laps are brutal.Qualifying is about the clock, not the rider across the track. The two fastest qualifiers meet in the gold-medal final and the third and fourth fastest ride for bronze, both later the same day. In any ride, catching your opponent ends the race.Team pursuit Mangan, Jeffers, OBrien, WongThe team version: four riders over 4km, 16 laps, starting on opposite sides of the track from their opponents. They ride in a tight line and take turns on the front, peeling up the banking and dropping back onto the rear wheel after each turn. The clock stops when the third rider crosses the line, so one rider can be used up and dropped in the closing laps.Every team rides qualifying alone against the clock. The eight fastest go into the first round, ridden head to head the next day, and the fastest teams from that round contest the gold and bronze finals later the same evening. Ireland have exactly four riders for the event, so there is no fresh rider to rotate in between rounds.Thursday is a big day for OBrien. The team pursuit first round, her elimination final and the team pursuit finals all fall in the same evening session, about 10:05, 11:30 and 12:50 Irish time. If Ireland go deep in the team pursuit, she could race three times in under three hours.Wednesdays start listsThe Irish are in action on the opening day. In the team pursuit qualifying, Jeffers, OBrien, Mangan and Wong ride in heat 3 of 17 over the 4km distance. Great Britain hold the world record of 4:02.808, set in Konya in February.Gillespie starts her title defence in the evening in the 40-lap (10km) scratch race, in a 24-rider field that includes Lorena Wiebes. It is the third time in a week the two have lined up together in China: Wiebes beat Gillespie on all three stages at Chongming Island.TPWomens Team Pursuit Qualifying, Heat 3Wed 14 October 2026 4km 17 teams21Emma JEFFERS22Aoife OBRIEN120Fiona MANGAN121Esther WONGWhen to watch the IrishWomens Schedule Irish RidersOfficial UCI programme Irish time on the right Shanghai is +7 hoursWed 14Team pursuit QualifyingMangan, Jeffers, OBrien, Wong heat 3 of 17 c. 10:45 localc. 03:45Wed 14Scratch FinalLara Gillespie 40 laps c. 19:00 localc. 12:00Thu 15Team pursuit First roundif Ireland qualify in the top eight c. 17:05 localc. 10:05Thu 15Elimination FinalAoife OBrien c. 18:30 localc. 11:30Thu 15Team pursuit Finalsif Ireland reach the top four c. 19:50 localc. 12:50Fri 16Omnium I Scratch 10kmLara Gillespie c. 12:35 localc. 05:35Fri 16Omnium II Tempo 10kmLara Gillespie c. 14:35 localc. 07:35Fri 16Omnium III EliminationLara Gillespie c. 18:05 localc. 11:05Fri 16Omnium IV Points race 20kmLara Gillespie c. 19:40 localc. 12:40Sat 17Kilo time trial QualifyingEmma Jeffers opens the session 11:00 local04:00Sat 17Individual pursuit QualifyingFiona Mangan c. 13:25 localc. 06:25Sat 17Kilo time trial FinalEmma Jeffers if in the top eight c. 17:35 localc. 10:35Sat 17Individual pursuit FinalsFiona Mangan if in the top four c. 20:00 localc. 13:00Sun 18Points race FinalLara Gillespie 25km c. 14:00 localc. 07:00Times from the official UCI competition programme and Wednesdays competition schedule. c. marks an estimated start, worked out from the published running order and event durations within each session, so allow a few minutes either way. The timetable is subject to change.The post World champion Lara Gillespie leads five-rider Irish team at Track Worlds in Shanghai appeared first on Irish Cycling News.