Golds on the boards: Canyon at the UCI Track Worlds 2024

Amid the rattle of the boards and the din of a raucous home crowd, Team Denmark soared to rainbow glory at the 2024 UCI Track World Championships.  

Racing with the Speedmax CFR Track bike, the Danes won four gold medals, including the hotly contested men’s team pursuit. It was their most successful ever world championships. 

Canyon’s fastest ever bike, the Speedmax CFR Track is a testament to the hours of painstaking engineering work that it takes to develop such a thoroughbred racing machine.  

The Worlds results are further proof: fast never fails. 

The story of the 2024 Worlds belongs to Julie Leth. 

After giving birth just nine months ago, the Danish track and road rider decided to pursue one final season in the sport, and now retires at the top after winning two rainbow jerseys in Ballerup. 

In the madison she combined with long term race partner Amalie Dideriksen to lap the field and clinch gold, to joyous acclaim in the stands. 

“We’ve been chasing this wild dream together through the ups and downs,” said Julie. “Whenever I went training in rain, sleet and bad weather, I did it because I knew Amalie would be doing the same. It has been a beautiful partnership and friendship, and has meant I continued cycling much longer than I thought I would.” 

In the final event of the championships, Julie then lined up in the points race. The result was the same: gold, and another rainbow jersey.   

“I thought: ‘It’s my last race, why not go out with a bang and just give everything I have?” she said. “Yesterday was amazing and to be able to do it again: wow!”. 

 Julie came straight off the track to embrace her son Alfred, who was sporting a matching rainbow jersey. 

 “It is indescribable and historic – only nine months since she gave birth,” said Danish national coach Thomas Dalsted. The fact that she came back so quickly and delivered at this level is unheard of. It just shows how professional and hardworking she is. She has really set out to show that you can be a mother and ride fast at the same time.” 

Earlier in the week, the Danish men’s team pursuit had won gold after a seesaw battle with Great Britain. Tobias Hansen, Carl-Frederik Bévort, Niklas Larsen and Frederik Madsen showed their mettle to come back from a disappointing fourth place at the Olympics, setting the tone for the rest of the Danish squad. 

Tobias Hansen then announced himself as one of track cycling’s rising stars with a silver in the scratch race, and a gold in the elimination.   

“It’s just amazing”, said the 22-year-old. “I don’t think I really understood what has happened, I’m just mega happy! It was quite chaotic but I really tried to keep a cool head, focus on the race and not get too stressed. In the end, I had a bit of legs left and to finish it off is crazy.” 

The four gold medals in Ballerup mark another momentous milestone for Canyon, completing a set of 2024 World Championship titles in Cyclocross, Gravel, XC and Track, in addition to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift victory and many other big wins.  

In addition to the rainbow jerseys, the US superstar Chloe Dygert piloted her Speedmax CFR Track to a new world record in Ballerup, beating her own time in the individual pursuit en route to silver.