Leigh Hoffman has claimed silver in the men’s sprint at the 2026 UCI Track World Championships in Shanghai, China, after facing Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen in the gold medal final.
The 26-year-old Australian advanced to his first individual sprint world championship final after a strong qualifying performance and a series of convincing rides, but Lavreysen’s experience proved decisive.
The Dutchman secured his eighth consecutive world title in the sprint, adding another rainbow jersey to his incredible collection of 23 world championship titles.
“Going into the final, obviously, wanted to win it. Didn’t come away with it,” Hoffman said.
“Lavreysen has won 23 world titles now, so he’s got a ton of experience, where for myself, that’s my first gold medal final at world champs.
“Still, to come away with silver was pretty amazing but it is bittersweet to be so close, within that grasp of another world title and have it slip away.”
Hoffman had given himself the best possible start by qualifying fastest on Saturday, recording 9.285 seconds to finish 0.141 seconds ahead of Lavreysen.
The South Australian maintained his momentum through the knockout rounds, progressing through the 1/8 final and quarterfinal before defeating Japan’s Kaiya Ota in straight sets in the semifinal.
The victory over Ota was particularly significant, with the Japanese rider having beaten Hoffman at both the Paris Olympics and the Copenhagen World Championships.
“Started out well — P1 and qualifying with a bit of a gap to the field, about a tenth, which was great,” Hoffman said.
“Just had a lot of confidence going through the rounds yesterday and today.
“Beating Kaiya Ota in straight sets, he’s someone who had beat me at the Olympics and beat me at Copenhagen worlds as well, so it was good to finally get some runs on the board against him.”
The final was decided by fine margins, with Lavreysen winning the two-race showdown by 0.093 and 0.183 seconds. The Dutchman clocked 9.730 seconds for his fastest 200m effort, compared with Hoffman’s 9.884, underlining just how close the Australian came to claiming his first individual world title.
The individual silver was Hoffman’s second podium finish of the championships. Earlier in the week, he teamed up with Ryan Elliott and Danny Barber to take silver in the men’s team sprint, with Australia again finishing behind the Netherlands for the fifth consecutive World Championships.
Teammate Barber also recorded a career-best result in the individual sprint, finishing eighth after his campaign ended in the quarterfinals.
Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.