The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that Hong Kong will host the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

The announcement was made while the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was taking place at the 6,000 seat velodrome in London’s Lee Valley VeloPark. A flag handover ceremony between Great Britain and Hong Kong took place immediately following the final race where the UCI flag passed from the current to the new hosts.

The 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships will take place between 12 and 16 April at the Hong Kong Velodrome, and will be just the second time in track cycling’s history that Asia has hosted the event following Maebashi, Japan in 1990. Hong Kong successfully hosted a round of the 2015/2016 UCI Track Cycling World Cup in January of this year.

Commenting on the award, UCI President Brian Cookson said: “I am delighted that the 2017 UCI Track Cycling World Championships will be held in Hong Kong. Since London 2012 when Hong Kong won its first ever Olympic medal in cycling with Lee Wai Sze in the women’s Keirin, Hong Kong has progressed steadily.

“The fact that the event is going to Asia for the second time marks an important milestone in the further globalisation of track cycling. The UCI is already very much involved in the region with UCI World Cycling Satellites Centres in Japan, Republic of Korea and India. We are convinced that the continent has huge athlete, commercial and broadcast potential and we will work with all our stakeholders to ensure the impact of these Championships is felt long after 2017.”

Hung-Tak Leung, Chairman of the Cycling Association of Hong Kong, China, said “hosting the UCI World Championships will further arouse interest in track cycling among the public and help identify talents for the team.”

The Hong Kong Velodrome has a 250-metre cycling track and spectator facilities for 3,000 people. It opened in December 2013 and occupies 6.6 hectares. Its wavy rooftop design is inspired by cycling helmets.

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