Your Australian guide to the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships

Australia's quest for world championship rainbows and medals in France on the track continues this week at the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the second week of #SQY2022 getting underway at Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, the home of Paris 2024's track cycling.

12 Australians will race in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines over the next four days, at what is the first UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships since 2020 in Milton, Canada, wherein the Australian Cycling Team claimed nine medals two years ago: eight gold, one silver and one bronze.

All five of Australia’s reigning world champions in Emily Petricola, Amanda Reid, David Nicholas, Paige Greco and Alistair Donohoe will defend their rainbow bands this week.

Joining the rainbow quintet on their own pursuit of success are Gordon Allan, Darren Hicks, Michael Shippley, Meg Lemon, Jessica Gallagher and pilot Caitlin Ward, and Australian Cycling Team debutant Erin Rowell, who has progressed through AusCycling's Paralympic Fast Track Program.

Speaking to Paralympics Australia, AusCycling Para-cycling Technical Director Warren McDonald said that despite the event offering no qualification points for the 2024 Paralympic Games the team stood to gain plenty, including familiarisation with the venue, investigating potential pre-Games staging camp locations and gauging their international competition.

“It’s our first international competition since Tokyo on the track, so it’s about seeing what we’re capable of and how our opposition is going,” McDonald said.

“This year there’s been over 100 international cyclists classified, which is a really big shift that I’ve never seen before. It means there will be a whole group of new athletes who will be competitive. It means we’ve got to lift the bar.

“We don’t want to be peaking now but we’re definitely here to win gold medals.

"Having said that, there are other areas we’re keen to investigate and have the riders see the different pieces of what Paris 2024 will look like.”

The team held a staging camp in Ghent, Belgium prior to heading to France earlier this week and have been familiarising themselves with a track none of them have had the opportunity to ride before.

Australian 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships team

Gordon Allan (C2) - Parklife CC
Darren Hicks (C2) - Norwood CC
David Nicholas (C3) - Bathurst CC
Michael Shippley (C5) - Balmoral CC
Alistair Donohoe (C5) - St Kilda CC
Amanda Reid (C2) - St George CC
Paige Greco (C3) - Port Adelaide CC
Emily Petricola (C4) - St Kilda CC
Meg Lemon (C4) - Port Adelaide CC
Erin Rowell (C5) - Geelong CC
Jessica Gallagher (Tandem/WB) - St Kilda CC
Caitlin Ward (Tandem pilot/WB) - Blackburn CC

Australia's #SQY2022 day-by-day

Each day starts at 6pm AEDT

Day 1 - October 20

Omnium (flying 200m): MC1-5 and WC1-5
500m time trial (qualifying and finals): WC3-5
4km individual pursuit (qualifying and finals): MC4-5

Day 2 - October 21

500m time trial (qualifying and finals): WC2
1km time trial (qualifying and finals): MC2
3km individual pursuit (qualifying and finals): MC3 and WC4-5
Scratch race: WC3 and MC5

Day 3 - October 22

3km individual pursuit (qualifying and finals): WC2-3 and MC2
1km time trial (qualifying and finals): WB and MC3-5
Scratch race: WC4 and WC5

Day 4 - October 23

Tandem sprint: WB
Team sprint: M/WC1-5
Scratch race: MC2 and WC1-2

How to watch #SQY2022

The competition will be streamed live on both the French Federation's YouTube page and the Handisport Studio.

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About the 2022 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships

The UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships are the annual world championships for track para-cycling organised by the governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

When: October 20 – 23, 2022
Where: Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France
Velodrome: Vélodrome de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

Characteristics of the track

Length: 250 metres
Width: 8 metres
Surface: Siberian wood
Bend: Maximum 43.8°
Straight: Maximum 13°