Cycling.....
Road racing and mountain biking
are part of the Olympic competition on bikes we can recognise. Track
cycling bikes are different. In track cycling, the riders go nowhere,
just around and around an oval track banked at 42 degrees. The
track's name &emdash; the velodrome &emdash; sounds space-age, and
the helmets, suits and bikes resemble something out of Star
Wars.
The competition:
The full program includes individual and team events, sprint and endurance races, pursuits, time trials and first-over-the-line finishes. The time trial, sprint, individual-pursuit and points race include events for men and women. The 4000m team pursuit, madison, keirin and Olympic sprint involve only men.
Road Races
The men's and women's road races and men's and women's time trials now comprise the four events that make up the Olympic road-racing program.
The competition
The road races begin with mass starts. The men race over 228km and the women over 128km. Bicycles for road racing have gears, brakes and quick release hubs which will allow quick wheel changes without the use of spanners.
INDIVIDUAL RACES
Raced over distances from 20-160kms. These may be scratch races (all riders off the same mark) or handicap races (riders or groups of riders off different marks). Watches start from the first rider away and all riders are timed. The race winner is the first rider across the finishing line and the fastest time is the rider who crosses the finish line in the least time.
Riders may assist one another with gear (wheel, tyre, pump etc) during an event but may not push or pull another rider. In general riders may not receive outside assistance. Riders may receive food and drink in certain events but only in areas designated as feed stations.