Mike O'Connor
Australian riders have shined at the Perth SpeedDome over the weekend, as the UCI Track World Cup descended down under.
Friday’s action
The opening night set on Friday set the tone for the weekend, exemplified by the Men’s Team Pursuit squad, made up of Liam Walsh, Thomas Cornish, Noah Blannin, and Joshua Duffy, who dominated their final, overlapping Hong Kong to take the top step and claim gold.
Thomas Cornish also shone individually with silver in the elimination race, while the Women’s Team Pursuit set a new track record in qualifying before racing through a commanding final.
Finally, the national Women’s Sprint Team of Kristine Perkins, Liliya Tatarinoff and Sophie Watts clinched bronze by defeating Chinese Taipei.
Saturday
Saturday’s racing featured sprint and keirin finals, including action against some of the world’s fastest riders.
The success for our riders continued, as Alyssa Polites and Keira Will earned silver in the Women’s Madison, a gruelling 120 laps in tough conditions, behind the commanding Japanese riders.
“This is my first World Cup medal and I’m really excited to be able to get it with Alyssa and in front of a home crowd means a lot,” said Sydney rider Keira Will.
The men’s Keirin Final was won by Malaysian star Azizulhasni Awang, with Australia’s Leigh Hoffman taking bronze in a highly competitive final, separated by just by 0.002 seconds.
“It’s definitely amazing to have a home World Cup and racing the quickest men on earth. I was leading it for a bit so that’s good so happy to come away with a bronze,” Hoffman said.
Sunday
The final day saw individual sprint medals and the concluding races in endurance and sprint disciplines.
The highlight was surely Bendigo’s Alessia McCaig, who lit up the final night with a stunning victory in the Women’s Keirin, powering clear three laps from home and holding on in a dramatic sprint for a maiden World Cup gold medal.
In the Men’s Individual Sprint, Leigh Hoffman once again finished on the podium, finishing silver, beaten in the final by Britain’s Matthew Richardson.
And in the Men’s Madison, Australian duo Conor Leahy and Liam Walsh took silver after a tough 200‑lap race, finishing behind Germany.
🇦🇺 Australian Medal Tally – Perth 2026 UCI Track World Cup
| Medal | Event | Athlete(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Women’s Keirin | Alessia McCaig |
| Gold | Men’s Team Pursuit | Liam Walsh, Thomas Cornish, Noah Blannin, Joshua Duffy |
| Silver | Men’s Sprint | Leigh Hoffman |
| Silver | Men’s Madison | Conor Leahy & Liam Walsh |
| Silver | Men’s Elimination | Thomas Cornish |
| Silver | Women’s Madison | Alyssa Polites & Keira Will |
| Bronze | Men’s Keirin | Leigh Hoffman |
| Bronze | Women’s Team Sprint | Kristine Perkins, Liliya Tatarinoff, Sophie Watts |
