July 2017| 71
Points race Olympic races Non-Olympic races
Much the same as a scratch race, a points race is
contested over a set distance, with sprints at pre-
determined points throughout the race. A 40km points
race, for example, will run over
laps, with the first
sprint coming with 150 laps to go and another sprint
every ten laps until the end. Riders collect points for
where they finish in the sprint, with the first rider being
awarded the highest number of points and the final sprint
being allotted double points. The rider with the most
points at the end wins. Omnium Individual pursuit
Team pursuit Madison
Sprint Points race
Team sprint Scratch race
Keirin Time trials
Competitors can again attack to try and take a lap, with
anyone successfully lapping the field being awarded
points, while you get a measly five for winning a sprint, so
taking a lap is highly sought after but hard to achieve.
Madison
Recent rule changes make the Madison one giant points
race, only with riders competing in teams of two, rather
than individually. While one rider is ‘in the race’ their
teammate conserves energy by rolling around the top or
bottom of the track until their teammate throws them
into the race via a ‘handsling’ – allowing them to switch
places, and so on and so forth.
It can make for chaotic, but also compelling, viewing and
is one of those races that needs to be seen in person to
best understand. Other than the handslings and teams,
the scoring system follows the same format as the points
race.
Omnium
The omnium now consists of four separate events, each
held on the same day, with the aim being to find the best
all-round rider.
A scratch race kicks things off, with
points being
awarded for finishing first, before a tempo race comes
next. The tempo race sees riders given a five lap start,
before a sprint on every lap for the remainder of the race
– commonly 40 laps for men and 30 for women. Points
are awarded for the first over the line each lap. The rider
with the most points at the end of the allotted laps wins.
The elimination race, sometimes known as the devil
takes the hindmost’, comes third in the day and is a real
crowd pleaser, always making for great viewing. After
two laps the bell is rung, with the last person to cross the
start finish line in the next lap being eliminated from the
race. Eliminations continue every other lap until you have
a one-on-one sprint left to determine the winner.
Finally, after those three events, all the points accrued
are taken into the points race with the same format as
previously described, and the rider with the most points
at the end wins the omnium.
Domestic racing and the future
While the best of the best compete in the Olympic
Games, World Championships and World Cups, you can’t
stay at the top of your game with those events alone.
Fortunately, there are other race series’ out there to
allow riders to hone their skills before heading to the
international competitions.
Leading the pack among those events is the Revolution
Series, which sees pairs of riders compete in a series of
races over a night, accruing points for their team, rather
like an omnium. The series began in
at the National
Cycling Centre in Manchester and has now spread to
include race nights in Glasgow and London, with the
Champions eague format now including C WorldTour
road teams fighting it out for supremacy alongside the
best of Britain’s domestic track talent.
James Pope, of Revolution founders FACE Partnership, is
keen not to stand still and is always developing new ideas
to bring in fans to the sport, be they the Longest Lap
(think trying to stay upright on a bike when your feet are
still clipped into the pedals before the gun sparks an all-
out one-lap sprint or the Madison time trial a kilo race
completed in pairs with a Madison-style handsling at the
halfway changeover) or the involvement of the world’s
best road riders.
“Fifteen years is a long time so we’ve had to keep
changing, developing the format; you can’t just keep
doing the same thing,” Pope advises. “A lot of people
liked the way we used to do it, but I think it’s important to
keep trying to innovate track cycling.
We try and do different things each season, whether
that’s creating a race like the longest lap, or the
Champions League format, I think we’re just trying to
keep people interested in the sport; get more people
interested in the sport.
The Champions eague, getting these pro teams on
the track, and creating the women’s competition will
hopefully help to bring more fans in and still keep the
existing fans interested in coming back to Revolution.”