Olympic champion Jennifer Valente joins UCI Track Champions League
Other US track riders set to compete in the five-round series include Grant Koontz, defending champion Gavin Hoover, and Lily Williams.
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Olympic gold medalist Jennifer Valente joins the UCI Track Champions League that kicks off Saturday in Spain with the first of a five-round series.
Valente skipped the inaugural edition of the new-look track cycling series last year, but will be among the top names on the boards as the 2022 series opens this weekend in Mallorca, Spain.
Other U.S. track riders set to compete in the series include Pan-American champion Grant Koontz, defending men’s UCI Track Champions League Champion Gavin Hoover, and Lily Williams. All four will compete in endurance events.
Valente, who won gold in the omnium in the 202o Tokyo Olympic Games, is hot off winning the world title in the omnium in October in the UCI Track World Championships as well as two bronze medals.
Hoover will be back to defend his overall men’s title.
Also read:
- Valente wins gold in the omnium
- Pro bike gallery: Team USA’s LOOK T20 for the UCI Track World Championships
- Gavin Hoover on winning the UCI Track Champions League
Valente will add some star power to the UCI Track Champions League, which promoters say “seeks to re-imagine the way track cycling.”
Following Saturday’s event in Mallorca, the series continues in Berlin on November 19 November, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris on November 26 November, before a double-header at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London on December 2-3.
Riders from 25 nations will compete in a mix of endurance and sprint events in the one-night event that promoters hope will raise the profile of track events and the sport’s stars.
The series will be broadcast live across GCN+, Eurosport and Warner Bros. Discovery’s free-to-air channels.
