Track cycling has become one of the main attractions of the Commonwealth Games and there will be no exception at Glasgow 2026.
Where is it taking place?
Just as they were 12 years ago, the track cycling events will be held at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, named after the Scottish cyclist who was, at the time, Britain’s most decorated Olympian.
The six-time Olympic champion has since been diagnosed with prostate cancer and in 2024 reported that the condition is terminal, adding extra poignancy to the events this time around.
The purpose-built Glasgow International Arena, which hosts the velodrome, was also the venue for the 2018 European Track Cycling Championships.
Dates at Glasgow 2026
The track cycling and para track cycling will take place at the back end of the Games, with the first events on Thursday 30 July.
The action will continue for four days through to the end of the Games on Sunday 2 August.
Day one is all about the teams in track cycling, with men’s and women’s team sprints and team pursuit races, as well as the men’s tandem 1km time trial B, women’s tandem sprint B and women’s individual pursuit C4-5 in para track cycling.
The final six gold medals of the 26 on offer will be contested on the Sunday, culminating with the men’s points race.
Team England’s history
While Australia have been the unquestioned powerhouse of track cycling at the Commonwealth Games, Team England have brought home 24 gold medals on the track.
Among the high-profile champions is Dame Laura Kenny, scratch champion in Birmingham, eight years after taking gold in the points race in Glasgow.
Going further back, legendary commentator Hugh Porter was the individual pursuit champion in 1966, following in the footsteps of his wife Anita Lonsbrough, a five-time Commonwealth champion in the pool.
Rules explainer
Events in track cycling come in a variety of formats, from time trials where the fastest time decides the champion to mass start events where the first person across the line is crowned, as in the scratch race.
In the pursuit, riders start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch their opponent or record the fastest time, while in the points race, there are points available every ten laps with the top points scorer logically winning.
The two most idiosyncratic but often entertaining events are the keirin, where sprinters bide their time behind a pacer, and the elimination race where the last rider drops out every other lap.
Who is competing for Team England?
A 25-strong team was named for the Games, which included 11 previous medallists.
The most high-profile among them won two gold medals four years ago in Birmingham, but Matt Richardson did so for Australia.
He is now representing the country of his birth and will be one of the star attractions, while 2018 individual pursuit champion Charlie Tanfield is part of the men’s endurance team.
Among the debutants, five-time Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox makes her long-awaited Commonwealth bow after missing out in previous Games due to injury and ineligibility.
