Wood instead of asphalt, driving in a circle instead of a straight line – that’s the first thing a person unfamiliar with cycling will notice. Track racing uses a modified road bike with one fixed gear and no brakes. And, perhaps, track is the most medal-intensive type.
Track cycling races are of the following types:
- Sprint – a race over a distance of 2-3 laps. Held in several stages with the participation in each of up to four riders. In the final the winners of each particular race.
- Team sprint – also a short race, but with the participation of teams consisting of three athletes. After the start of the first racer helps the team to develop speed, dropping out at the end of the lap. With him the second racer leaves the track, and the task of the third participant – not to lose the gained course, because the time of the team depends on its finish.
- Points race – a mass race with simultaneous starts and intermediate finishes on laps.
- Elimination Race – In this competition, the competitor who crosses the line of the next intermediate finish line last is eliminated from the race.
- Individual Pursuit – a race with two people starting simultaneously from opposite sides of the track.
- The Team pursuit is similar to the individual pursuit with the difference that four-man teams start on opposite sides of the track. The race is heavy in that it requires teamwork to achieve a result.
- Madison – a paired race, in which partners take turns to replace each other until the intermediate finish with the points. That is, the competition between racers begins only before the intermediate finish every 20 laps.
- Scratch – a group race with no more than 24 people starting at the same time. It is interesting in that here the participant lagging one lap is eliminated from the race, but in the reverse case, when one of the cyclists overtake all one lap, he automatically becomes the winner.
- Git is an individual time trial for 1 km, 500 m and 200 m. The start is from the spot and on the move.
- Keirin – the race for the bike, which, however, can not be overtaken. Two and a half laps before the finish, the bike leaves the track, and that’s where the riders do their best. The winner, of course, is the first one to reach the finish line.
- Omnium – track all-around. The omnium includes 4 disciplines in which athletes compete on the same day. The omnium consists of scratch race, pace race, elimination race and points race.