What To Expect On Day Three Of The Championships
The excitement is building after two amazing days of events. Here's what's coming up on day three.
This unique event, the first of its kind and the biggest cycling event in history, began on Thursday 3 August and continues until Sunday 13 August, and features riders from over 130 countries in 13 championships, with over 200 rainbow jerseys to be awarded throughout the Championships.
Keep up with every moment of the action by following our socials, or check out our live blog which is updated regularly all day, every day, for all the latest news, action and results.
It’s day three and we’re in full swing here in Glasgow and at venues around Scotland, and now everyone’s warmed up, let’s throw another discipline into the mix, shall we?
EVENTS TO WATCH
BMX FREESTYLE PARK
It’s time to head to the park, where the ramps, boxes and slopes of the purpose-built BMX Freestyle Park will provide the canvas for some gravity-defying art.
The sport combines incredible feats of daring and athleticism with artistic presentation, as the riders aim to execute a range of mind-bending tricks with extreme amplitude within the 60 second time limit to impress a panel of judges, who are on the look-out for flair and originality, hang time (how long the riders spend in the air) and use of the park and its features.
Glasgow Green plays host to the elite qualifying rounds for both the men and the women on Saturday morning, and it’s guaranteed to be a spectacle.
TRACK AND PARA-CYCLING TRACK
Rainbow jerseys have been flying out almost as fast as the riders themselves two days into the action at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome. Day three and there’s no time to pause for breath as it’s another jam-packed day of track and para-track cycling on the cards, as the inaugural integrated programme sees the very best athletes from across the world come together to do battle on the boards.
Sir Chris Hoy is the most decorated Scottish Olympian of all time, and took 11 World titles in his career, inspiring the cyclists of the future, who will take to the track hoping to join an elite group of rainbow jersey winners.
The men’s elite sprint event begins on Saturday, with incredible displays of speed and power on show, and the women’s elite keirin event will also begin qualification.
7 rainbow jerseys are up for grabs on Saturday, including hopes for Great Britain in the kilo, the men’s 1km time trial final (C1 and C5 categories); the women’s C5 individual pursuit, and the men’s C2 and C3 scratch race.
The evening session will conclude with arguably the day’s marquee events, the men’s team pursuit and women’s team pursuit finals, which will pit the fastest teams against one another head to head.
MOUNTAIN BIKE DOWNHILL
After two days at the Nevis Range, Saturday will see the final day of competition in Fort William, as the main events will crown the champions of the men’s and women’s elite downhill event.
The 2.8km course is all that stands between the cream of the downhill mountain biking crop and rainbows, and they will attack the slopes with characteristic bravado and expert bike handling, and they will need it – the course is one of the longest in the sport, littered with rocks, twists and turns, and a stomach-churning 555m total of vertical drop.
Check out the preview of the technically and physically challenging course.
ROAD
The roads of Glasgow will come to life for the first time with the symphony of squealing brakes, the hum of well-oiled chains and the swish of tyres on tarmac as the first of the road races take place on a city circuit that features numerous turns and a leg-breaker of a climb.
The women’s junior road race will take place over five laps of the city – a distance of 70km in total, and with 1036m of altitude gain it’s not easy task. With plenty of corners to navigate, the riders will need to employ expert bike handling, and steel themselves to take on the formidable wall of Montrose Street, a 200m kicker where the race will likely be won or lost.
The men’s junior road race takes place over the same course, with the men completing 9 laps, for a total of 127.2km with 1865m of altitude gain. That’s 9 times that they will have to tackle the vicious ‘Mur de Montrose’ – with reportedly a maximum gradient of 13%, it will make or break the race.
ATHLETES TO WATCH
BMX World Champions Hannah Roberts (USA) and Rimu Nakamura (Japan) will take to the park hoping to thrill their way to a repeat of 2022. A range of talented opponents hope to depose them. For the men, Olympic champion Logan Martin (Australia) is on great form, winning two recent World Cup events, and France’s Anthony Jeanjean who has pushed him close on both occasions, and who won in Brussels just a couple of weeks ago. Great Britain’s Kieran Reilly came close to a podium spot in Brussels, and along with team mate Declan Brooks, the Brits will aim to impress their way to success on home soil.
For the women, China’s Huimin Zhou beat Roberts in the recent World Cups in Saudi Arabia and Brussels, and looks to be hot favourite for the rainbow stripes. Great Britain’s Charlotte Worthington and Germany’s Lara Marie Lessman have a shot at glory if they can impress the judges with their skills.
On the track, the home crowd will be roaring Katie Archibald and her women’s pursuit team to go for glory in the women’s team pursuit finals, while Denmark will clash with Filippo Ganna’s Italian team for glory in the men’s event.
The men’s 1km time trial features two reigning British champions who will defend their titles – Sam Ruddock (C1) and Blaine Hunt (C5) will take on the kilo hoping to bring home more rainbows for the home nation. Great Britain’s Megan Newberry goes for bronze in the women’s C5 individual pursuit. Scotland’s own Finlay Graham will defend his World title in the men’s C3 scratch race, while France’s Alexandre Leaute will ride the C2 scratch race in defence of his title.
The men’s downhill final features defending World Champion Loic Bruni of France, who will be aiming to repeat his success despite the presence of some serious competition, including the in-form Canadian Finn Iles and his teammate Jackson Goldstein, and France’s Thibaut Daprela. Brits Bernard Kerr and Danny Hart will hope to challenge.
Valentina Höll of Austria is the reigning women’s champion. She faces a stern challenge on a number of fronts, including the in-form Swiss rider Camille Balanche, and the British five-time World Champion Rachel Atherton, who has returned to arguably her best form in 2023.
On the road, there’s big British hopes as current leading junior women’s rider Cat Ferguson aims to emulate Zoe Backstedt and win the event for Great Britain for the second year in a row, and she’s arguably the favourite to do so, though she’ll face a challenge from the likes of Julie Bego (France) and Federica Venturelli (Italy). In the men’s juniors, it’s tougher to predict a winner, with Australia’s Oscar Chamberlain, France’s Paul Seixas and Matys Grisel, and Belgium’s Sente Sentjens have all performed well this year, and come to the race in good form.
WHERE CAN YOU WATCH IT?
The Championships is reaching an unprecedented number of nations with global broadcast partners showing all the action from Scotland every day – check out the maps below to find out how to watch, wherever you are.
WANT TO JOIN US?
The Championships are in full swing, so remaining tickets are limited, but there is still some availability for certain sessions and events – click the link below to find out how you can join us.
There are also plenty of opportunities to watch live for free, on the road side – take a look at the route maps for the road races, or head to the site to find out what else you can enjoy for free.