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Photo courtesy of
Steps Physiotherapy ~
Specialists in sports injuries
TRACK RACING RULES
Track racing takes place on a
banked facility called a velodrome which can be either indoors or
outside. The track generally is 200 - 400m in circumference,
although they have been known to be as long as 530m. The turns are
very steeply banked, (they tend to have less of a gradient on a
longer outdoor track) and the speeds can be very fast. It is a
particularly exciting racing for riders and spectators alike, and
demands speed, skill, concentration and strategy. A simple bicycle
with a fixed gear (one-speed, no-coasting and no brakes) is used.
Because of the special venue opportunities for track racing are
dispersed. Track racing has a variety of events with a near infinite
number of variations.
SPRINT EVENTS:
Ø
Olympic Sprint:
o
Three man teams ride three laps of the track (750m on Olympic
standard 250m Tracks). After the first lap, the first rider peels
off and plays no further part in the race. After the second lap the
second rider also pulls off, leaving the third rider to complete the
event and record the team's time. Technically demanding, the aim is
for the first two riders to shield and slipstream the third rider
for two laps (slipstreaming can save up to 30% of energy) leaving
them relatively fresh for the last lap. Usually ridden two teams at
a time (starting opposite sides of the track) with a qualifying
round, with the four fastest winning teams going through to the
finals for gold/silver and bronze.
Ø Team Sprint:
o In
the sprint, 2 to 4 competitors cover 1000 meters. It is not all at
high speed, in fact, sometimes it is at a near standstill. This race
demands more technical skill than any other bicycle race – riders
jockey for position as they try to outwit each other before the
final dash to the line. The final meters of a match sprint can be
some of the most intense in cycling.
ENDURANCE EVENTS:
Ø
Madison Relay:
o
Effectively a Points Race for two-man teams (though the points
scoring works slightly differently - see below). Only one rider per
pairing is ever actually racing. The other rider circles the track
high up the banking awaiting being caught by his team-mate at which
point he swoops down and, after a hand sling (difficult to describe,
but basically the rider who is "in" takes the hand of his team-mate
and transfers his momentum to him through a mixed handshake and
slinging motion) takes over the racing for the pair. Highly
technical, a challenge to watch, but very exciting and almost
balletic at times. Again, the winner is the team with the most
points - however, unlike Points Races, laps gained over the field do
not produce bonus points - instead laps gained actually have
priority over points scored. So if only one team laps the field,
they win irrespective of the number of points scored. And if several
teams lap the field, they then are ranked according to points
scored. This puts extra emphasis on taking laps, which subtly
influences tactics used.
Ø
Team Pursuit:
o
Team version of the individual pursuit. A male only discipline. The
major difference to the individual version is that the four riders
share the workload, with the lead rider staying at the front for
only a lap or so before swinging up the track (right) and re-joining
the four man line at the back. A technical event, team-mates often
ride only centimetres apart to maximise slipstreaming effects. Times
are taken on the third rider of the team to cross the line: the
slowest rider in a team often sacrifices himself in later stages of
the event and pulls up the track to let his team-mates complete the
race without him.
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(More cycling related pix from
the UKSG 2009 can be seen at n the Gallery on this website)
Websites that can be used as a reference
for other cycling disciplines other than track cycling:-
-
Advice on
training for Cycle Time Trials at
http://www.timetrialtraining.co.uk/S1startingnotes.htm
-
Advice on
different bikes from Why Cycle at
http://www.whycycle.co.uk/bike_styles/road_racing_bikes/
-
Training
information for cyclists, cycling equipment reviews and how to
get started at
http://www.road-bike.co.uk/
-
Touring and
Racing cyclists advice at
http://www.cobr.co.uk/e-cobr_information/t_and_r_section/introduction.shtml
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