TRACK
The wooden track is 250m in circumference and banked all the way round, its
steepest angle 42 degrees at the bends. A red line is painted right around
the track running at 80cm from the inner edge: this marks the "sprinter's
line", the boundary over which no rider must stray if there is a chance
that he or she will interfere with the progress of a rival. Within the
line, no cyclist is allowed to overtake on the inside.
Bikes may often look different but they are basically the same size and
made out of the same few components: wheels must be between 66 and 68cms;
the bicycle must not exceed 2m in length or 50cms in width; while frames
these days tend to be made of steel, aluminum, titanium or carbon fibre.
Track bikes have one fixed gear, its size dependant on the event being
raced and the needs of the rider. There are no brakes.
Men and women race in four types of event: sprint, pursuit (team event for
men only), time trial and points
race. The team time trial, which has a long Olympic tradition and holds a
special place in world championships, which in cycling are considered more
important than the Olympic Games, has been dropped to make room for other
track events as well as mountain biking beyond the track. For the first
time in Games history, men will also compete in olympic sprint, Madison and
Keiren events in Sydney, though those races are not open to women.
Olympic sprint, which, despite its name, will be seen for the first time in
the Olympic arena at Sydney, is a tactical team three-lap race in which
the last 200m is timed. Riders must not stand still as they manouevre for
best position over the first lap but flexibility rules on the second lap,
when riders may sprint or stand still depending on which tactic best suits.
The third lap is effectively a sprint for the line. Two teams of three
riders start on opposite sides of the track and each team member leads for
one lap. The race finishes when the third rider crosses the line.
In Individual pursuit, riders start on opposite sides of the track, the aim
to catch the other rider up, or to record the fastest time over the 4km,
for men, of 3km, for women. Riders are held for 50 seconds before the
starting signal sounds.
The team pursuit, raced over 4km and only open to men, involves four men
per nation. Teams start racing on opposite sides of the track. The third
rider is the one to watch; the team time is taken as his wheel crosses the
line and one team is declared caught by another only when the third rider
from one team draws level with the third rider from the other team.
The time trial, as its name suggests, is a race against the clock, as
opposed to another rider. Men race four laps, or 1,000m, and women race
500m. Riders are held in starting bloocks for 90 seconds before the
starting signal is sounded.
The point of the points race is to score points. Riders do so by being
among the first four to cross the line every 10 laps of a race that is 160
laps long, or 40km, for men, and 100 laps long, or 35km, for women. Five
points go to the leader, then 3, 2 and 1, in descending order for second to
fourth placed. The scores are doubled for the final 10-lap sprint. But that
is not the end of it, for the winner is chosen only from those who finish
on the same lap as the rider who completes the distance in first place. A
rider who has won every stage of the race but falls back and is lapped over
the last 20 laps, for instance, could easily fall out of the medals
altogether. Points are tallied for those who finish in the same lap as the
winner and in the event of tie, the place finishes at each of the 10-lap
stages is taken into consideration.
Madison, named after madison Square Gardens in New York, where the first
such race was staged, is new in Sydney though not a new event in cycling.
It is raced over 60km (240 laps) that is split into stages of 5km (20
laps), each ending in a sprint, with points scored in the same way as they
are in the points race. Teams of two per nation compete and often consist
of an endurance specialist and a sprinter to cope with the changes in race
pace. Only one rider per team races actively at one time, the teammate able
to take rest laps by circling slowly at the top of the track. As they
exchange positions in the race, teammates grasp hands and the cyclists
leaving the active race propels the other one into action with an arm pull
referred to as a "handsling".
The Keirin, which started life as a betting race in Japan in the 1940s but
enters the Games for the first time in Sydney, is an eight-lap race in
which riders race behind a motorbike which sets a pace of 25km an hour,
rising to 45km an hour before leaving the track after the first 5.5 laps.
Cyclists then race without their motorised pace-maker for 2.5 laps and
sprint to the line.
ROAD
There are two road events, the road race and the road time trial. Men race
up to 234km and women up to 126km. The race involves a mass start, with
positions determined according to world ranking, and the winner is often
the rider who, after hours of endurance, can sprint the fastest. Feeding
and water stations are dotted along the course - which average out at just
under 16km each lap depending on the course, which can vary per event -
while riders can accept assistance if they suffer technical problems, such
as a puncture. In addition to the cycling world's answer to the AA van,
which follow riders as they race, there are pits along the course where
spare bicycles and wheels are held in case of emergency. If a rider is
lapped on the course, he or she must leave the race.
The individual road time trial mirrors the track time trial though the
distance is greater: 45.8km, or three laps, for men, and 31.2km, or two
laps for women. each rider sets out at intervals of 90 seconds. The winner
is simply he or she who posts the fastest time. Riders are allowed to get
help with punctures and "recognised" accidents (see rules in brief).
Road bikes are mostly constructed from lightweight steel, aluminium,
titanium or carbon fibre, have downward curving handlebars, thin
high-pressure tyres and narrow
saddles. Unlike track bikes, they have brakes and eight gears.
MOUNTAIN
Men race over 40-50km covering 6-7 laps of a circuit, and women over
30-40km covering 5-6 laps. Courses vary to take into account local
conditions, including the weather, which can dictate that a course is
changed the night before competition.
