CYCLING Preview: Track World Cup starts, but with a touch of sadness

The 27th edition of the UCI Track World Cup will start this weekend in Saint-Quentin (FRA), but with the knowledge that one of the brightest stars in the sport will not be riding.

Germany’s 11-time World Champion and Rio 2016 Olympic Sprint gold medalist Kristina Vogel suffered a severed spinal cord after a crash in a training session last June and cannot walk, let alone ride again. She dominated the sprints at last year’s World Cup, but did not enter the final events of the circuit and finished second in the Sprint standings.

Despite the loss of Vogel, the World Cup goes on, with Saint Quentin the first of six events:

∙ 19-21 October: Saint Quentin (FRA)
∙ 26-28 October: Milton (CAN)
∙ 30 November-2 December: Berlin (GER)
∙ 14-16 December: London (GBR)
∙ 18-20 January: Cambridge (NZL)
∙ 25-27 January: Hong Kong (HKG)

The defending individual champions and runners-up from the 2017-18 World Cup circuit include:

Men:
∙ Sprint:
1. Mateusz Rudyk (POL)
2. Andriy Vynokurov (UKR)

∙ Pursuit:
1. Charlie Tanfield (GBR)
2. Ivo Oliveira (POR)

∙ Time Trial:
1. Matthew Glaetzer (AUS)
2. Eric Engler (GER)

∙ Keirin:
1. Andriy Vynokurov (UKR)
2. Matthijs Buchli (NED)

∙ Points:
1. Ivo Oliveira (POR)
2. Christos Volikakis (GRE)

∙ Scratch:
1. Jon Mould (GBR)
2. Adrian Teklinki (POL)

∙ Omnium:
1. Niklas Larsen (DEN)
2. Maximilian Beyer (GER)

Women:
∙ Sprint:
1. Laurine van Riessen (NED)
2. Kristina Vogel (GER)

∙ Pursuit:
1. Justyna Kaczkowska (POL)
2. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED)

∙ Time Trial:
1. Daria Shmeleva (RUS)
2. Miriam Welte (GER)

∙ Keirin:
1. Kristina Vogel (GER)
2. Shanne Braspennincx (NED)

∙ Points:
1. Anita Stenberg (NOR)
2. Kirsten Wild (NED)

∙ Scratch:
1. Rachele Barbieri (ITA)
2. Alzbieta Bacikova (ITA)

∙ Omnium:
1. Jennifer Valente (USA)
2. Yumi Kajihara (JPN)

Look for results here.