The European Track Championships for under-23 and juniors start tomorrow and continue until Sunday at the Portuguese National Velodrome in Sangalhos, Anadia. It is the seventh time that Portugal has organised this competition, but never before have there been so many riders registered as in 2023: 420 cyclists are expected, representing 30 countries.
44 European titles will be up for grabs, 22 in under-23 and as many in juniors, in a total of eleven track cycling disciplines, including the Olympic ones: omnium, madison, team pursuit, individual sprint, team sprint and keirin.
In addition to the large number of riders entered, the list of participants stands out for its quality, especially in the under-23 category. In this category we find cyclists who have already won medals among the elite and who are certainly approaching their maximum shape, since in less than a month they will compete in the elite World Championships in Glasgow, which is fundamental for the Olympic qualification accounts.
There are seven riders present who, back in 2023, medalled at the Elite European Championships in February. Germany’s Tim Torn Teutenberg was crowned European champion in the elimination race. Manlio Moro was part of the Italian team that won the team pursuit title, as well as the bronze medal in the individual pursuit, a race in which the German Tobias Buck-Gramcko, also present in Anadia, took the silver medal.
Moving from endurance to sprint disciplines, the highlight is Dutchman Tijmen van Loon, the 2023 European team speed champion in the elite category, a discipline in which Frenchman Tinny Gillion took the podium to receive the bronze medal.
In the women’s sector, the entry list features two cyclists who medalled at this year’s elite European Championships. Germany’s Alessa-Catriona Pröpster, a member of the team sprint champions, and the Netherlands’ Maike van der Duin, bronze medallist in the women’s elite elimination.
Among the participants will also be a number of riders who medalled in Sangalhos in the previous edition of the European Championship, some who already know what it is like to win European under-23 titles and who, this time, will have competition from cyclists who dominated the junior competition and who want to prove their quality at the top level.
The provisional programme for the first day of competition shows races between 11h00 and 16h00 and between 17h30 and 20h42. There is, however, the possibility of adjustments due to the high number of entries.
The afternoon sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as well as the entire competitive programme on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, will be broadcast live on the Portuguese Cycling Federation’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Entry to the velodrome is free for residents of the municipality of Anadia, costs five euros per day for those affiliated with the Portuguese Cycling Federation and ten euros per day for the general public. The pass for the six days costs 40 euros.
