On the final night of track cycling at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, Jennifer Valente (San Diego; TWENTY24 Pro Cycling) successfully defended her World Championship Title in the Women’s Omnium. “To back up last year is really special in a different kind of way. I was just elated last year and so excited. I had reached a career goal mindset, and I think that this race was really for me. I was focused on myself and my own racing, and just kind of took it one step in the process and was able to defend that,” said Valente about her back-to-back wins.
The event, comprised of four races: the Scratch Race, Tempo Race, Elimination Race, and Points Race, is one of the most challenging competitions in cycling. All four events are done within four hours. Valente, who has seen the omnium change over the last couple of Olympic cycles, said, “I think it certainly changed the way everyone raced, maybe without a 6- or 7-hour break in the middle, everyone is on the same boat, they’re hurting the same way I’m hurting at the end of the Points Race. But it’s something we certainly train for. We do multiple efforts in a session.”
In the first event, the Scratch Race, Valente was extremely efficient with her efforts, allowing other riders to chase down attacks. With three laps to go, she burst to the front of the field and won the field sprint.
During the Tempo Race, Valente showed why she is one of the best track racers in the world. After the French rider, Valentine Fortin attacked early and took a lap, Valente attacked and started collecting points. Within ten laps, Valente completed taking a lap on the field. She cemented her win in the event between the points she earned and the lap she took.
In the third event, the Elimination Race, the nerves were palpable. Three crashes throughout the race brought on neutralization. Valente avoided calamity and was extremely precise, picking riders off the back. She took the win in the event, setting her up with a solid lead of 20 points going into the final event.
Valente knew that she couldn’t focus on what everyone else on the track was doing. She had to race her own race. When asked how she stayed focused during the four-event race, she said, “I was taking each race one step at a time and definitely the first three events riding my own race. Focusing on riding the best race possible and not worrying about what anyone else was doing and putting it all together at the end.”
Going into the final race, Valente was playing defense. Keeping an eye on the top five riders and ensuring none gained enough points to overtake her sizeable lead. Her plan was executed to perfection, and she successfully defended her title.
This is Valente’s 17th Elite World Championship medal and her third Elite Individual World Championship Title, having won the Omnium in 2022 and then the Scratch Race earlier in this championship. When asked about her growing trophy collection, she said, “Nobody really sets out to do something like that in your career, it just happens, and this has just been part of my career. It was an exciting moment when someone said it to me.”
Women’s Omnium Results
1 – Jennifer Valente (USA)
2 – Amalie Diderikson (AUT)
3 – Lotte Kopecky (BEL)
