Track Worlds Shanghai 2026: Azizulhasni's keirin and sprint dates in Malaysia time as Lavreysen defends

Azizulhasni Awang will go after a world title again when the UCI Track Cycling World Championships run from Wednesday, 14 October to Sunday, 18 October at the Shanghai Velodrome. Shanghai is on the same time zone as Malaysia (UTC+8), so every session time in this guide is also Malaysian time. That makes this one of the easiest world championships for home fans to follow live.

Who is riding for Malaysia

Utusan Malaysia reports that the 38-year-old Azizulhasni is Malaysia's only man in the individual sprint events, the keirin and the sprint. Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid ride the women's sprint and keirin.

Malaysia also has entries in the men's and women's team sprint. The men's team sprint pool named in the report is Muhammad Shah Firdaus Sahrom, his brother Ridwan, Mohd Akmal Nazimi Jusena and Muhammad Fadhil Zonis. Only three ride in each round, and the final line-up has not been confirmed.

The championships are the first track worlds held in mainland China. More than 475 riders from 47 nations are entered, competing for 22 world titles, 11 for men and 11 for women.

The day-by-day schedule for Malaysian fans

• Wednesday, 14 October: Men's and women's team sprint qualifying and first round, with both finals in the evening session from 6.30pm.
• Thursday, 15 October: Men's keirin, with the early rounds in the daytime and the third round and final in the evening session from 5pm. The women's sprint also starts this day.
• Friday, 16 October: Women's sprint final.
• Saturday, 17 October: Men's sprint qualifying and early rounds in the morning, with the quarter-finals in the evening session from 5.30pm.
• Sunday, 18 October: Men's sprint semi-finals in the morning and the final in the session from 1.30pm, plus the women's keirin final.

Published start times for the first sessions differ slightly between sources, so check the organisers' latest programme before the morning sessions.

Azizulhasni's keirin form

The keirin is Azizulhasni's strongest event, and the one in which he became world champion in 2017. This season he won keirin gold at the UCI Track World Cup round in Nilai in April, beating a world champion in front of a home crowd. The UCI's own preview notes that he finished ahead of Dutch star Harrie Lavreysen in the World Cup keirin standings.

Lavreysen is still the rider to beat. He won four titles at the 2025 worlds in Santiago, including the keirin, the sprint and the team sprint, and he is defending all three in Shanghai. The Netherlands won seven of the eight sprint titles in Santiago.

Other storylines in Shanghai

On the women's side, Japan's Mina Sato is chasing a third straight keirin world title, which no woman has done before. Hetty van de Wouw of the Netherlands is entered in all four women's sprint events after winning three titles last year.

Hosts China topped the World Cup team sprint rankings for both men and women, which should make Wednesday's team sprint finals a strong opening night for the home crowd. Britain's Emma Finucane is also among the leading names in the women's sprint events.

Key takeaways

• The Track Cycling World Championships run from 14 to 18 October in Shanghai, which shares Malaysia's time zone.
• Azizulhasni Awang races the keirin on 15 October and the sprint on 17-18 October.
• Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid ride the women's sprint and keirin.
• Harrie Lavreysen defends the keirin, sprint and team sprint titles he won in Santiago in 2025.
• Malaysia also enter the men's and women's team sprint, with the finals on the evening of 14 October.

FAQ

When is the men's keirin final at the 2026 Track Worlds? It is on Thursday, 15 October, in the evening session that starts at 5pm Malaysia time.

Is Shanghai in the same time zone as Malaysia? Yes. Both use UTC+8, so local session times in Shanghai are the same as Malaysian time.

Which Malaysian women are racing in Shanghai? Nurul Izzah Izzati Mohd Asri and Nur Alyssa Mohd Farid are entered in the women's sprint and keirin, and Malaysia also has a women's team sprint entry.

Sources: UCI, Utusan Malaysia, Bernama, Tuttobiciweb