Icknield Road Club
COMPOMOTIVE WHEELS

Club 76th year

Events Diary 2009

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Welwyn track

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Track Racing

Tracks

Track racing goes back over a hundred years. The length of track has varied since the early days although now most indoor events take place on a track of 250m. However, the shape of the oval still varies from track to track. Manchester Velodrome is one of the best indoor tracks in the world but it is also one of the tightest. The track is steeply banked at each end at a slope of 42 degrees to the horizontal. This can be quite daunting for the novice but awe inspiring for the spectator as they watch riders hurtling past at anything up to 40 mph within a few feet, seemingly defying gravity. The majority of indoor tracks are constructed from wooden boards. However, there are still a number of outdoor tracks across the country which tend to be surfaced in concete or tarmac. They are often combined with althletics tracks, so the the lap circuit tends to be longer and the bankings shallower. The track at Gosling Park, Welwyn, for instance, is around 450m. Racing on outdoor tracks is always subject to the vagaries of the weather and, as such, racing during the summer only is the order of the day, and anything more than a hint of rain will stop racing as the dangers are considered too great.

Types of Races

Track racing can be a bit of a mystery to the novice. However, there are two main types of event - Sprint and Endurance events. The following is a synopsis of the main categories of event within each type. Please see BC website for further details.

Sprint

Kilometre Time Trial (500m for women) - an individual time trial against the clock. A lo pro bike with tribars is often used.
Team Sprint (aka Olympic Sprint) - a 3-up team time trial in which a team of 3 riders work together to complete three laps of the track, the object being to get the third man across the line in the fastest possible time to record the team's overall time. The first and second riders' times do not count, their only purpose being to pace and shield the third rider from the wind, peeling off respectively after the first and second laps. This is a male only event.
Keiren (Derny race) - a sprint to the line after a series of motorbike (derny) paced laps of increasing speed, in which riders jockey for position behind the derny, which they are forbidden to pass until it pulls off to the infield with 2 and a half laps to go.
Sprint - a head to head sprint between two riders over 3 laps of the track. It is highly tactical with riders going around at walking pace for the first lap, and performing track stands with the object of trying to gain the tactically superior position to the rear of their competitor.
Course des Primes - these are races where there is a prize for the first rider over the line each lap. The pace will be fast and furious from the start as rider after rider tries to leave the bunch behind to cross the line first.

Endurance

Individual Pursuit - a pair of riders start on opposite sides of the track and pursue each other for 4km (3km women), the object being to cross their respective finish line first.
Team Pursuit - a 4-up team version of the individual pursuit, in which riders in each team share the workload by providing shelter on a rotating basis. Two teams pursue each other, starting at opposite sides of the track and the winning team is the one whose third man crosses the line first.This is a male only event, often ridden with lo pro bikes.
Italian Pursuit Races - larger teams contest these races. Each rider does only one lap in the lead, and then pulls up above the blue line out of the way, leaving his team to carry on without him. Each time a rider finishes his lap the team becomes smaller until it is a one-to-one pursuit on the final lap.
Block Pursuit - a variation of the team pursuit in which the field is split into two equal sized groups, the groups starting at opposite sides of the track. The first person to complete the distance is the winner.
Block Handicap - similar to the block pursuit except that the field is split into 3 or 4 groups according to ability, with the faster ones starting further back so that they have to ride further. The winner is, again, the first rider across the line.
Devil take the Hindmost - a mass start bunch race in which the last two riders across the line on each lap are eliminated until three or four are left. On the last lap the first across the line wins.
Points Race - a mass start bunch race run over 20, 30 or 40km where the object is to gain points at intermediate sprints, the final sprint or by lapping the field. The rider who acquires the most points wins.
Madison - a points race for two-man teams in which only one rider in a team is riding at any one time. The other rider circles the track higher up the banking waiting for his partner to catch him at which point he swoops down so that his racing partner can transfer his momentum to him with a single-hand slingshot to enable him to carry on the racing.
Scratch Race - a mass start bunch race held over 10, 15, 20 or 25km, with the first man or woman across the line declared the winner.

Equipment

As for equipment, a proper track bike is ideal but any bike will do, so long as it has a fixed back wheel (i.e. no gears and no freewheel), no brakes and no sharp bits sticking out, which could injure another rider in the unlikely event of a crash.

The bike is effectively stripped down to its bare essentials - a frame, two wheels, a chain, cranks and pedals, a handlebar and stem, a saddle and seatpost... nothing more. The gear chosen is usually around 86-90 inches for seniors, less for juniors. Track dropouts on a proper track bike are horizontal with the opening facing rearwards. That way if you pull a wheel over it will not come out of the frame. If you convert a road bike frame to track duty, make certain the frame has the old style horizontal dropouts (albeit with the opening facing forwards). Vertical dropouts will not do as you then cannot adjust the tension of the chain. Wheels must be fixed to the frame with nuts. Wheel skewers are not allowed as they could injure another rider in the event of a crash. You need a couple of wheel nut spanners with which to adjust chain tension, and a couple of different gears for different types of event. Sprint events will generally demand a lower gear than endurance events. Clips and straps or modern style cleated shoes and clipless pedals should be used to keep the shoes attached to the pedals and avoid possible injury from flailing pedals.

The idea of having no brakes may seem a little daunting at first, but when you realise that all riders are going in the same direction, and that there is no need to slow down or stop abuptly as no one else has them, the matter is not of great concern. Obviously, you do need to slow down at the end of a race or to adjust speed when riding close to another rider. However, this can be done by applying gentle resistance against the forward motion of the pedals to slow down. Abrupt stops are not possible and therefore slowing down and stopping should be planned. Positioning is also important so that when riding in the wheel of another rider, crossing of wheels should be avoided to prevent the possibility of touching wheels if the lead rider suddenly swerves.

Category and Points System

Like road racing, track racing is normally held under BC regulations and a licence and BC membership is required. A hard shell helmet is required and gear restrictions apply to juniors and juveniles/youth. Points gained at track meetings count towards road racing points and vice versa. Go to the BC website for further information about the points structure.

Events Calendar

Go here for details of Monday evening training sessions at Welwyn.

For further details of open track meetings held at Gosling Park, Welwyn, go to the Welwyn Wheelers website.

For details of all track meetings, go to the British Cycling website.

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Icknield Road Club COMPOMOTIVE WHEELS