Items19The creator’s order
  1. 1Reg HarrisReg HarrisBorn 1 Mar 1920Sprint. Harris won the amateur world sprint title in 1947 and then four professional world sprint titles between 1949 and 1954, also setting world records over the kilometre. He was Britain's first cycling star of the television age and, remarkably, raced again in his fifties to win a national…0i
  2. 2Daniel MorelonDaniel MorelonBorn 24 Jul 1944Sprint and tandem. Morelon won Olympic sprint gold in 1968 and 1972 and the tandem in 1968, plus a long run of amateur world sprint titles. Later, as France's national coach, he developed a generation of sprinters including Florian Rousseau and Félicia Ballanger, so his influence on match sprinting…0i
  3. 3Félicia BallangerFélicia BallangerBorn 12 Jun 1971Sprint and 500 m time trial. Ballanger won Olympic sprint gold in 1996 and both the sprint and 500 m time trial in Sydney 2000, with a long run of world titles in both events. Winning the tactical match sprint and the flat-out solo time trial requires two different skills, and she dominated both…0
  4. 4Chris HoyChris HoyBorn 23 Mar 1976Kilo, sprint, keirin and team sprint. The Edinburgh rider won the kilo in 2004 and, after it was dropped from the Olympics, rebuilt himself as a match sprinter and keirin rider to win three golds in Beijing and two more in London. That forced change, from a pure power effort to tactical racing, is…0i
  5. 5Victoria PendletonVictoria PendletonBorn 24 Sept 1980Sprint, keirin and team sprint. Pendleton won Olympic sprint gold in 2008 and keirin gold in 2012, with nine world titles across those events. Her rivalry with Anna Meares, settled across several championships, is the best way into how women's match sprinting became a headline event.0i
  6. 6Anna MearesAnna MearesBorn 21 Sept 1983500 m time trial, sprint, keirin and team sprint. Meares won the 500 m in Athens 2004 and the sprint in London 2012, and won Olympic medals at four Games. She came back from a broken neck in 2008 to win silver in Beijing months later, which is the starkest example of the risk sprinters carry.0i
  7. 7Jason KennyJason KennyBorn 23 Mar 1988Sprint, keirin and team sprint. Kenny won seven Olympic golds from 2008 to 2021, including all three sprint events in Rio, making him Britain's most successful Olympian. His late keirin win in Tokyo, attacking early and holding off the field, shows a sprinter adapting tactics in his thirties.0i
  8. 8Laura KennyLaura KennyBorn 24 Apr 1992Team pursuit, omnium and madison. Laura Kenny won five Olympic golds, the team pursuit in 2012 and 2016, the omnium in 2016 and the madison in 2021, the most by a British woman. The omnium needs both a sprinter's kick and an endurance engine, and her range across all three endurance events is rare.0i
  9. 9Bradley WigginsBradley WigginsBorn 28 Apr 1980Individual pursuit, team pursuit and madison, plus the road. Wiggins won Olympic pursuit gold in 2004 and 2008, team pursuit gold in 2008 and 2016, and the 2016 world madison title with Mark Cavendish, either side of winning the Tour de France. Few riders have moved from track endurance events to…0i
  10. 10Mark CavendishMark CavendishBorn 21 May 1985Madison and omnium, plus road sprinting. Cavendish won the world madison title three times and Olympic omnium silver in 2016, all while becoming the record holder for Tour de France stage wins. His track racing taught the positioning and timing that made his road sprints so efficient.0i