Great Britain opened the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile, with two silver medals in the men's and women's team sprints. The women's trio of Emma Finucane, Iona Moir, and Rhianna Parris-Smith qualified fastest but were beaten by the Netherlands in the gold medal ride, finishing 0.667 seconds behind.
Finucane, the reigning individual sprint world champion, praised her debutant teammates. “I’m so proud of these two,” she said. “It’s their first world championships and to go out there in the gold medal ride off, be composed, feel the pressure… we couldn’t have asked for more.”
In the men's event, Matthew Richardson, now racing for Great Britain after switching from Australia, joined Joe Truman and Harry Ledingham-Horn. They led the Dutch team after two laps but were overtaken by Harrie Lavreysen on the final lap, losing by over half a second. Richardson described the silver as “bittersweet” but added, “my first medal at a world championships in GB skin suit is going to feel amazing.”
Truman noted the positive step towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: “It’s the closest we’ve ever been to the Dutch… it’s exciting for what we can crack on with.”
On day two, Maddie Leech finished sixth in the women's scratch race, won by the Netherlands' Lorena Wiebes. The GB women's team pursuit squad qualified second-fastest for the first round, while the men's team pursuit team was eliminated after losing to Australia.
