The Sangalhos Velodrome, in Anadia, will host the Junior and Under-23 European Championship, between July 14th and 19th. During these days, the best of their generation will be in the fight for the much-desired 44 titles waiting to be awarded.
In 2021 it was the Russian Federation that won the most medals, with a total of 29, including 16 gold. In the overall team ranking it was followed by Great Britain, with 27 medals, 20 of them gold, and Germany, with 21 medals, two of them gold. Despite winning fewer medals, with a total of 14, the Italian team took home seven gold medals, an achievement that is also worth highlighting. Portugal, the sixth best nation in competition, was also in the spotlight, winning five medals: two gold and three silver.
These were last year’s results in Apeldoorn, in the Netherlands, but the focus is now on the 2022 edition, which will take the best athletes to the National Velodrome in Sangalhos. This is a wooden track, 250 meters long, inaugurated in 2009. Since then, it has already hosted several important events, and this will be the sixth time that the structure will host the Junior and Under-23 European Track Championships. The Sangalhos Velodrome hosted this competition for four consecutive years, between 2011 and 2014, doing so again in 2017 and now in 2022.
The official training sessions will begin on Monday, July 11th, but the competition will only start on Thursday, July 14th. On that first race day, between 11am and 4pm the individual pursuit and team sprint qualifying sessions will take place, with the actual competition taking place between 5.30pm and 8.42pm, with the scratch and team sprint races for junior men and women, and the elimination and individual pursuit races for men and women under-23.
On July 15th we will have qualifying sessions for the afternoon races between 10am and 2.12pm. The competition will start at 4pm, and at this time we will have the 1 km time trial for junior men, the team pursuit and elimination for junior men and women, and also the scratch and team sprint for men and women under-23. On this day, the competition will end at 9:25pm.
The competition continues on July 16th, with the qualifying rounds between 10am and 2.25pm and the finals between 4.30pm and 9.02pm. On that day we will have the sprint race for junior men and the individual pursuit for both sectors of the junior category. In addition, there will also be the 1-kilometre time trial for men under-23 and the team pursuit for both men and women under-23.
On the following day, July 17th, one of the most important competitions will take place: the omnium, for junior men and women. The riders in the junior category will also face the 500 meters time trial for the women’s sector and the sprint race for the men’s sector. In the case of the under-23s, this will be the day to dispute the sprint races, in the men’s sector, and also the points race, in both sectors. On this day, the qualifying sessions will take place between 11am and 1.27pm, and the finals between 3pm and 8.46pm.
On the penultimate day of competition, July 18th, the qualifying sessions for the afternoon races will take place in the morning, between 11am and 1:42pm, as well as the final of the 500 meters time trial for the under-23 athletes. In the afternoon, between 4pm and 8:54pm we will have the points race and the keirin for the junior men and women and the sprint race for the men under-23. This will be an important day for the athletes in this category, as they will face the omnium race in both sectors.
July 19th will be the last day of competition at the Junior and Under-23 European Track Championships with the morning being dedicated to qualifying sessions and the madison race for junior women, between 10am and 12:05pm. In the afternoon, between 2:00pm and 5h26pm will be the keirin races, for men and women under-23, and also the keirin races for junior men and under-23 in both sectors.
Six days full of strong emotions and lots of competition are expected at the Sangalhos National Velodrome, in Anadia, which is already used to witness competitions of this dimension and to receive the best in the world on the track.
For more information on the European Track Championship please click HERE
