February ended with track success for Nottingham cyclists
University of Nottingham cyclists ended their track season in style at the 2026 BUCS Track Championships which was held at the nearby Derby Arena Velodrome across the weekend of the 27th February. Entering numerous athletes across both men's and women's team and individual competitions, the University of Nottingham returned a superb medal haul that included two gold medals.
Published 09 Mar 2026
I am incredibly proud of how we competed at these championships. From our commitment to the process to the love of racing demonstrated the values we train and race by at Nottingham.
Tom Haines, University of Nottingham Cycling Head Coach
The 2026 BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Track Championships provided some of our athletes the opportunity to represent the University of Nottingham on the track for the very last time, and their performances certainly meant that they will end their time in the Green and Gold in emphatic fashion.
University of Nottingham Cycling Club stalwart Tilly Gurney would beat her previous BUCS record for the Kilo TT, however strong competition meant that this performance left her just outside the medals in this event. However, Gurney would topple the field in the Women's Individual Pursuit to add a gold medal to her collection, whilst final year scholar Eluned King also bested the pack to win another Points Race and take to the top step of the podium. These two athletes would also combine with Izzy Ellis and Sinead Turner-Frick to win Women's Team Pursuit silver, whilst Gurney, Ellis and Turner-Frick also formed a formidable trio to take home bronze in the Women's Team Sprint. Eluned King rounded out her magnificent weekend by winning another bronze in the Women's Elimination race, and the collective performances of our female athletes ensured that they would finish second in the Women's Overall Team event.
In the men's events, Ed Charles raced in 5 races (and 3 qualifying races on top of that) across the 3 days of the event displaying huge amounts of effort which ultimately reaped rewards. Charles would leave the championships with three medals - silver in the Men's Team Pursuit with George Cottrell, Cormac Nisbet, and George Stephens; silver in the Men's Elimination Race; and bronze in the Men's Team Sprint with Ben Chesterfield and Noah Woodhouse. Alongside Ed, many of these team mates also secured multiple medals as Cormac Nisbet won silver in the Men's Individual Pursuit, Noah Woodhouse would take bronze in the Men's Individual Sprint, and the group would also finish second in the Men's Overall Team event.
These collective performances of all of our University of Nottingham athletes delivered a total of 12 medals, with the University of Nottingham finished 2nd in the overall standings. This achievement helps to showcase the continued success of the club, which is supported by partners and cycling specialists, Kalas.
Impressively, for a lot of the riders competing, this was their first season on the track and they made a lot of progress, including the University of Nottingham Men's B team (Aidan Graetz, Will Barham, Hugh Aubrey, Tom McGuinness) in the Team Pursuit and Team Sprint, with Ben Chesterfield from the A team joining them for the team sprint. Flo Lissamann competed in the Women's Individual Pursuit and was in the B team for the Team Sprint (alongside Anwen Brierly and Eluned King) who placed 4th behind the A team.
In addition lots of the other riders and alumni students from the club who weren't competing came over to the velodrome to support which was really well received from all of those on the track.
You can find all of the details and results from the 2026 BUCS Track Cycling Championships by visiting the official website here.
Now that the track season is over, the team will be shifting its focus to crit racing, road racing and time trials throughout the spring and summer. You can find out more about the Performance Cycling programme at the University of Nottingham by visiting our dedicated web page here.
I absolutely loved my first track championships in the Green and Gold. There was a truly great atmosphere within the team, and to walk away with two silvers was a really solid result. My personal highlight was the team pursuit where everyone delivered what we knew we were capable of, and we set a PB when it mattered most!
Cormac Nisbet, University of Nottingham cyclist and sport scholar
Notes for editors
University of Nottingham are the top UK University for team sport, placing 2nd in the overall British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings in the 2024/25 season. For more information on our performance sport offer, including scholarships and support for student athletes, please click here.