Lotte Kopecky secured her third career world title in the elimination race at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships on Oct. 15, 2026, anchoring a strong day for the Belgian delegation in Shanghai, China. Sporza reported that Kopecky defeated Japan’s Yumi Kajihara in the final sprint to claim the gold jersey, exactly an hour before teammate Lindsay De Vylder raced to a bronze medal in the men’s scratch event.
Kopecky Dominates Elimination Race in Shanghai
Entering the competition as the heavy favorite in her favored discipline, Kopecky navigated a chaotic race that included multiple neutralizations following crashes. The Belgian star remained composed throughout the early elimination rounds, steering clear of trouble while competitors such as Lea Lin Teutenberg and Valentine Fortin exited the track. Kajihara, a former omnium world champion, suffered a late crash but recovered to reach the final two riders. According to WielerFlits.be, Kajihara had expended her remaining energy recovering from the fall, allowing Kopecky to launch a decisive acceleration on the final lap and cross the finish line with meters to spare.
đ Lotte Kopecky has conquered the world title in the Elimination Race at the UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai! đ¨đłIt's her third world title ever in the Elimination!Congratulations Lotte! đ#Shanghai2026 #BelgianCycling pic.twitter.com/7CQ5NOFdtX
The victory marks Kopecky’s seventh career world title on the track and her third in the elimination race following previous triumphs, alongside four European titles in the same discipline. Wielernieuws noted that the multi-discipline star has now medaled in the elimination race at five consecutive world championships. Kopecky will continue her world championship campaign on Friday in the omnium before partnering with Shari Bossuyt in the madison on Saturday.
De Vylder Captures Scratch Bronze Amid Late Chaos
Following Kopecky’s success, Lindsay De Vylder added a second Belgian medal to the tally by seizing bronze in a turbulent men’s scratch final. De Vylder maintained his composure within the chasing group, timing his own late acceleration to secure the bronze. The result represents the sixth world championship medal of De Vylder’s career and serves as an important performance ahead of the madison, where he and teammate Fabio Van den Bossche enter as defending champions.
International Highlights and Danish Pursuit Dominance
On the broader international stage, the Danish men’s pursuit squad delivered one of the standout performances of the evening session. Carl-Frederik BĂŠvort, Lasse Leth, Frederik Madsen, and Rasmus Pedersen defeated Italy in the final with a time of 3 minutes and 40.865 secondsâfalling less than a second short of their world record. The performance secured Denmark’s fourth world title in the team pursuit, established on the lowland track in Shanghai. In the men’s sprint events, Dutch powerhouse Harrie Lavreysen captured his fifth keirin world title and the 22nd world championship gold medal of his career, edging out Japanese specialists Shinji Nakano and Kaiya Ota in the final sprint. In the women’s team pursuit, Great Britain’s quartet of Erin Boothman, Anna Morris, Millie Couzens, and Josie Knight secured the gold medal by defeating defending champions Italy with a winning time of 4 minutes and 4.610 seconds.
Belgian Sprint Results and Schedule Checkpoint
While the endurance squad celebrated multiple medals, the Belgian contingent experienced early exits in the sprint disciplines. Lowie Nulens finished fourth in his initial keirin round before being eliminated in the repechage heats. Action resumes in Shanghai with Friday’s morning session, featuring Kopecky in the omnium and Jules Hesters representing Belgium in the men’s points race.
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