Bikes & Equipment

 

Bikes and Equipment    Track bikes are minimalist. There are no brakes, no gears and no freewheel - if the back wheel is  turning, so are the pedals. Speed is controlled by pedalling, moving up or down the banking, and by pushing back on the moving pedals


. 

 

Types of Races

Track Racing is loosely divided into two categories : Sprint & Endurance

Sprint would include, time trials up to 1Km and obviously the Match Sprint itself along with Team Sprint and Keirin.  Standing Start Time Trials start with 100m for U12, 250m for U14 with U16, Junior, Vets and Ladies competing over the 500m distance. These distances might seem quite short but the real skill is getting the bike quickly up to speed from the standing start and as the distance increases being able to hold that speed all the way to the line. These time trials are quite technical and do take a lot of practice and specialised training.  The Sprint itself, is the event many of you have seen on TV and not quite understood what it was about. Riders qualify for this through a 'flying 200' TT where they increase speed over two laps and then use the banking to hit the 200m mark at full speed and their time from there to the finish determines their seeding for the first round of the sprint -  indeed not all qualify so if you dont do a good 200, your cometition can be over before it has begun! Once the Sprint rounds begin, its 1v1, with one rider elected to lead, and then the cat and mouse begins in earnest as riders vie for position to force the other to lead out, or to seize an oppostunity for a surpise attack.

Endurance would include the 4km Pursuit (3km for women), and this is the event where riders start on opposite sides of the track and are timed over the distance but are in essense trying to catch their opponent.  All other races of bigger distances including Points, Scratch and Madison (not even going to try to expalin that one!) would fall into the endurance category.  I say two categories as Sprint and Endurace athletes tend to be quite different in build, how they train etc with obviously Spriint spending more time in the gym and tending to be bulkier than their endurance counterparts

Links

Track
Track Info & Video by the BBC
(Introduced by Chris Hoy)
'Standing Start'
Short film featuring Craig McClean

Rules of Track Racing 
(UCI Rules)
www.trackcycling.ie 
(Irish Track Website)
Revolution Website
(Elite Track Racing Series)
Manchester Velodrome
(UK indoor track)

General
www.irishcycling.com
www.womenscycling.ie
Cycling Ireland
Lucan Cycling Club