The Track Worlds Quiz: Six Questions on Finucane's Shanghai Mission

The velodrome is the fastest place in cycling, and this week it belongs to Shanghai. The UCI Track World Championships open October 14 at the Shanghai Velodrome, with racing running through October 18, and the first event on the program is the women's team sprint. Welcome to this Track Worlds quiz: six questions on the riders, the rivalries and the records that will define the week.

The championships matter beyond the rainbow jerseys. They are the first event counting toward qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, which puts early pressure on every nation with medal ambitions, according to UKPulse. There is no better way to follow the racing than by testing what you know in this Track Worlds quiz.

The headliner is Emma Finucane. The twenty-three-year-old Welsh sprinter arrives at her fifth World Championships chasing the sprint and team sprint titles she last won in 2024, after taking two silver medals last year, a result she described as disappointing, according to UKPulse. She will race the team sprint alongside Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith, then the individual sprint and the keirin, UKPulse reported.

Great Britain brings a twenty-rider squad to Shanghai, with eight world-title holders and a matching number of Olympic medallists, according to Injury Tracker. Nine riders are at the Worlds for the first or second time. Great Britain Cycling Team performance director Stephen Park said the selection shows the depth of the programme and described Shanghai as an important stepping stone on the road to the Los Angeles Games, Europesays reported. Keep that squad in mind for this Track Worlds quiz.

Matt Richardson leads the men's sprint group as European sprint champion, and his presence is a story in itself: he returns to the boards after a crash ruled him out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Britannia Sport reported. Reigning individual pursuit world champion Anna Morris anchors the endurance group, while Matt Bostock arrives off Commonwealth Games gold in the forty-kilometre points race, according to Manx.News. BBC coverage runs across iPlayer and BBC Two all week. Now try the questions in the Track Worlds quiz below. Every answer is multiple choice, and the explanations follow.

The questions

Question one. The racing takes place at the Shanghai Velodrome. Which country is hosting the championships? a) China b) Turkey c) Scotland

Question two. These championships are the first qualifying event for which Olympic Games? a) Paris b) Los Angeles c) Brisbane

Question three. Which three riders form Great Britain's women's team sprint trio? a) Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith b) Anna Morris, Josie Knight and Millie Couzens c) Sophie Capewell, Lowri Thomas and Megan Barker

Question four. Who is the reigning individual pursuit world champion in the British squad? a) Josie Knight b) Anna Morris c) Erin Boothman

Question five. Which sprinter is back after a crash that kept him out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games? a) Ethan Vernon b) Mark Stewart c) Matt Richardson

Question six. Finucane will ride the team sprint and the individual sprint. What is her third event? a) keirin b) omnium c) points race

The answers

The answers to the Track Worlds quiz are below, with a short explanation for each.

Question one: China. The Shanghai Velodrome is the venue for the championships, per the event's Wikipedia entry.

Question two: Los Angeles. The Shanghai championships are the first event counting toward qualification for the Los Angeles Games, according to UKPulse.

Question three: Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Rhianna Parris-Smith. That trio is listed for Great Britain in the women's team sprint, per the event's Wikipedia entry.

Question four: Anna Morris. She is the reigning individual pursuit world champion, according to Injury Tracker.

Question five: Matt Richardson. He missed the Glasgow Commonwealth Games after a crash, and Shanghai marks his return, according to Britannia Sport.

Question six: keirin. Finucane will contest the team sprint, the individual sprint and the keirin in Shanghai, according to UKPulse.

How did you do? Share your score from the Track Worlds quiz with a friend who thinks they know cycling, then try more quizzes on GenZNewZ: test your memory with the Singapore Grand Prix quiz, get seasonal with the spooky season quiz, or take the Saif Ali Khan ghee quiz.