Cycling - Track

Count Mede de Sivrac of France built the first bicycle in 1790. Starting in 1896, cycling is one of the few sports that has been contested at every Olympic Games. And road and track events were in the first Pan American Games in 1951. In recent years, the International Olympic Committee added mountain biking and BMX.

There are four Olympic cycling disciplines, all of which include both men’s and women’s events: road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking and BMX.

Track comprises seven events. In sprint, cyclists race two at a time for two or three laps. There is also a team sprint event. In individual pursuit, women race 3,000 metres and men 4,000. Two riders start from opposite sides of the track and attempt to catch each other or cross the finish line with the best time. Team pursuit features four riders racing over a 4,000-metre distance. Results are based on the third team rider to reach the finish line.

In the endurance points race, riders sprint every two kilometres for points and if they lap other riders it is 20 points. Madison is similar, but with 18 teams of two riders. Keirin is a fast-paced event where riders follow a motorized derny that changes pace for 1,400 metres before a furious sprint to the finish.

Athletes

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  • bighank99

    bighank99 - 9 months, 3 weeks ago

    At the same time as Canadians and Ontarians are celebrating the arrival of the 2015 PanAm games, which is bringing with it a hopefully wonderful world class velodrome in Hamilton, we have to hear such discouraging news from the IOC that they are dropping the individual pursuit from the games, this on the heels of losing the kilometer tt last year.

    There seems to be a revival of track cycling world-wide taking place yet it's too bad that the IOC doesn't notice this.

    While the huge interest in velodromes waned with the advent of the motor car, we can fast forward to today's world of superhighways, busy local roads, and traffic jams, in which the velodromemay be the way of the future, especially for recreational riders.

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