Track cycling

Track cycling refers to a type of cycle racing in which the competition takes place on a closed loop or oval (the track) in special purpose stadiums called velodromes. The competition venue may be either indoors or outdoors. Outdoor track surfaces are usualy concrete while the fastest indoor surfaces are made of wood slats. The length of the oval is between 250 meters and a quarter of a mile.

The rider use special purpose bicycles called track bikes which have no brakes and a fixed gear (no freewheel).

There are a variety of events which are commonly part of track cycle racing and several of these are Olympic Games medal events.

Events

Time trial

In the track time trial, riders are timed over a fixed distance from either a standing start or a flying start. In a standing start, typically a holder will hold the rider in the upright position until the starting signal, at which point the rider is released (without either being restrained or assisted with a push).

The track time trial is an Olympic Games medal event with 1000 meters being the distance established for men and 500 meters for women. Both are from a standing start. The 200 meter flying time trial is often used for preliminary placement for the seedings in the matched sprints event (see below).

Scratch race

A scratch race is a race over a fixed number of laps of the velodrome track with all riders starting together in a "rolling start". The winner is the first rider to cross the finish line at the end of the specified number of laps, with the following riders occupying positions according to the order in which they cross the finish line. Thus, this type of race is, in terms of its structure, very much like a traditional track and field foot race (e.g., the mile run). Riders do not receive any bonus points for position during the race (see points race below), but there may be preems which are special lap prizes (though, again, these preems do not count in the final finish order).

Points race

In a points race, as in a scratch race, the field is sent off with a rolling start for a fixed distance race. However, unlike a scratch race, riders accumulate points over the course of the race on certain sprint laps designated prior to the race. Normally, these sprint laps where points are awarded come every 5 laps or so on a normal sized velodrome track. The first few riders across the line on each sprint lap are awarded points in descending order of their finish on that lap (commonly 5-3-2-1 for the first 4 riders). Bonus points may be awarded for gaining a lap on the "main filed" and, similarly, points may be deducted from any rider who loses a lap to the main field.

A variation of the points race is when the number of points increases with each successive sprint lap. Or, only the lead rider scores points, with the number of points likewise increasing with successive sprint laps.

The end of the points race occurs when the leader completes the last lap of the race, at which time the total points which each rider has accumulated determines the final finish order.