Track Cycling - An Introduction

The clipless pedals were less of a problem than I thought they would be, as was the track bike, though that had a steeper learning curve. The club officials gave me a detailed safety talk stressing that I must keep pedalling or bad things will happen , set me up on one of the club bikes and teamed me up with one of their more experienced riders for a few laps on the track. Having an on-track tutor made the whole experience easy and I was soon starting, stopping and flying around the track drafting the other riders.

Race night that Friday saw me in the lowest grade, D grade, in a field of four. The first race was a scratch race and I finished fourth which was also last but because the field was small, I qualified for the weekly handicap race. I was on the biggest handicap mark and was told that I should start riding all out from the start until the race was over.

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The third race was a little longer and saw me riding in a pace line, swapping turns at the front and sprinting to the finish. I came third, but that was only because one of the other riders dropped out. The author getting beaten by a woman 20 years older than him.

Because the night was running early, we finished with an Italian Pursuit race. Two teams of riders from all grades including junior elite riders ride against each other with the slowest rider at the front of the team line and the fastest at the back. On the night we had 12 riders in each team, quite a big field.

Track cycling

After one lap, the front rider peels off and their race is over. Now that I had the experience of racing and I knew how it worked on a basic level, I could focus on improving my performance. Chatting with the other riders, riding on training night, reading about and watching track racing online gave me enough motivation to give it a red-hot go the second time around.

In the final race of the night I won. To put this whole adventure into perspective, I am not an athlete; the last time I won a race was in kindergarten — it was an egg and spoon race and my mum still has the spoon. Friday night is now family track night for us, at least for the summer. My legs are already anticipating it. If you want to try track cycling, contact your local cycling club and ask where the nearest velodromes are located and who runs them.

If you have any interest in cycling as a sport, you should try track riding out at least once. Be warned, however, that it may prove to be addictive. David Halfpenny rides whenever and wherever he can; in good weather and bad, in sickness and in health An introduction to Track Cycling. About The Author David Halfpenny rides whenever and wherever he can; in good weather and bad, in sickness and in health Thinking outside the Cell — a hack for the track Bicycles Network Australia says: Because of this the need for aerodynamic components is minimised, and the aerodynamics to weight ratio makes aerodynamic componentry, at present, an idea with more cons than pros.

Given the importance of aerodynamics, the riders' sitting position becomes extremely important. The riding position is similar to the road racing position, but is ultimately dependent on the frame geometry of the bicycle and the handlebars used. Handlebars on track bikes used for longer events such as the points race are similar to the drop bars found on road bicycles.

However, in the sprint event the rider's position is more extreme compared with a road rider. The bars are lower and the saddle is higher and more forward. Bars are often narrower with a deeper drop.

Introduction to Track Cycling

Steel bars, as opposed to lighter alloys or carbon fibre, are still used by many sprinters for their higher rigidity and durability. In timed events such as the pursuit and the time trial , riders often use aerobars or 'triathlon bars' similar to those found on road time trial bicycles, allowing the rider to position the arms closer together in front of the body. This results in a more horizontal back and presents the minimum frontal area to reduce drag. Aerobars can be separate bars that are attached to time trial or bull horn bars, or they can be part of a one-piece monocoque design.

Use of aerobars is permitted only in pursuit and time trial events. Formats of track cycle races are also heavily influenced by aerodynamics.

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If one rider closely follows, they draft or slipstream another, because the leading rider pushes air around themselves; any rider closely following has to push out less air than the lead rider and thus can travel at the same speed while expending less effort. This fact has led to a variety of racing styles that allow skilled riders or teams to exploit this tactical advantage, as well as formats that simply test strength, speed and endurance. During the early s in individual pursuit events, some riders, most notably Graeme Obree , adopted a straight-armed Superman -like position with their arms fully extended horizontally, but this position was subsequently outlawed by the Union Cycliste Internationale UCI , the sport's ruling body.

Recumbent bicycles can actually be ridden faster due to their aerodynamic advantage, but are similarly banned from UCI competition. In addition to regular track racing, tracks are also the venue for many speed records. These are over either a fixed distance or for a fixed period of time. The most famous of these is the hour record , which involves simply riding as far as possible in one hour. The history of the hour record is replete with exploits by some of the greatest names in cycling from both road and track racing including, among others, Major Taylor , Henri Desgrange , Fausto Coppi , Jacques Anquetil , Eddy Merckx , Francesco Moser , Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger.

Originally, attempts were made at velodromes with reputations for being fast such as the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan. More recently, attempts have moved to high-altitude locations, such as Mexico City , where the thinner air results in lower aerodynamic drag, which more than offsets the added difficulty of breathing.

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Innovations in equipment and the rider's position on the bike have also led to dramatic improvements in the hour record, but have also been a source of controversy see Graeme Obree. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article includes a list of references , related reading or external links , but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.

Track Cycling- An Introduction

Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. July Learn how and when to remove this template message. Sprint Team sprint Keirin Track time trial.

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Track cycling - Wikipedia

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