The Tour de France might be done and dusted for another year, but there’s plenty of bike-racing excitement still left on the calendar. No, not La Vuelta, we’re talking about the prestigious Brompton World Championship (BWC), which is happening in London again this year, but will be held at a new venue and with an expanded programme of challenges and shenanigans.
Announced this week via an epic piece of Strava art, the 2026 Brompton World Championship will take place within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, on Saturday 5 September.
In 2025, riders from over 25 countries contested the BWC in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross, but this year’s event will see 650 competitors compete for the coveted crowns on the fast-paced circuit at Lee Valley VeloPark, which hosted the track cycling events during the 2012 Olympics.
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Open to all, so long as you’re quick and willing to wear some sort of fancy dress, the races will have an exciting Le Mans-style start, whereby riders have to run to their bike and unfold it before they can start racing. It’s believed to be the only sporting event in the world where origami and bike racing intersect.
The format consists of 10 qualifying heats, each featuring up to 75 riders each. The quickest 75 men and 75 women will progress to the respective finals, after which two small-wheel wunderkinds will be crowned Brompton World Champions for 2026.
New for this year are a four-person relay race, where fast-paced change overs should inject some jeopardy and entertainment into the mix for onlookers, and the Hydro Scrap Lap, a crowd-pleaser of a contest that celebrates the most creative and memorable rider of the day.
(Image credit: Brompton Bicycles)
“The championship captures everything we love about our community: people coming together, expressing themselves and sharing the joy of riding,” said Chris Willingham, Brompton’s Chief Marketing Officer. It’s a day that showcases cycling at its most welcoming, creative and fun, and we’re excited to see riders from across the globe come together once again.”
The Brompton World Championship was born in 2008 in Barcelona, Spain, and has been held in various incarnations in various places around the world most years ever since. In fact, confusingly, there has already been a Brompton World Championship this year, held at the Sea Otter Classic in April.
Originally, contestants all had to wear a suit jacket, collared shirt and tie – in reference and deference to the commuters who form the core of Brompton Bicycles customer base – but over the years other themes have been explored, and the bikes themselves are often impressively pimped for the occasion. There’s only one over-riding rule: no Lycra.
As fun and frivolous as the event is, typically there is some serious prize money up for grabs. Tickets and entry spots are available now.
