Masters Track

[oldcrank]

Report and full results from 2014 Australian Masters
Track Championships just completed in Melbourne:
http://www.vic.cycling.org.au/Home/...-by-Victorians-at-the-Masters-Track-Nationals

Historic videos from Northcote Velodrome, Melbourne.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4283093790081
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wgTyff4fYE

 

[hiero2]

What cool fun!

Thx!

 

[oldcrank]

I would like to initiate some discussion regarding the
2017 World Masters Games to be held in Auckland NZ.
(It appears that no dates have been announced yet.)

One point I would like to address is the velodrome
where the track cycling events will take place. While
Auckland has a decent 287.5m outdoor concrete track,
there is a brand new, world class indoor 250m. timber
track in Cambridge 135 km. to the south.

I think athletes, whether they are coming from across
the Tasman Sea or from Asia, Africa, Europe or the
Americas would come in larger numbers if they knew
that the track cycling events were being held indoors
(or that there was at least a provision to move them
indoors due to rain, etc.). I do admit, though, that
I am not aware if WMG policies and protocols will
allow events to be held at such a distance from
the host city.

If one looks at the last four WMG's: Torino (ITA) 2013,
Sydney (AUS) 2009, Edmonton (CAN) 2005, and
Melbourne (AUS) 2002 it is appears that the indoor
velodromes in Australia attracted more competitors
than the outdoor velodromes in Italy and Canada.
Of course, I appreciate there may have been other
factors in play, as well.

The other point I'd like to raise is the UCI World Masters
Track Championships: Manchester has been awarded
the contract for this meet up to and including the 2016
Championships. In 2009, Sydney (AUS) hosted the World
Masters Games and the UCI Masters Track Championships
very successfully on consecutive weeks. I wonder if the
NZ Cycling Federation has considered doing something
similar in 2017.

I welcome thoughts and opinions from Kiwis and any
masters cyclists that are considering partaking in the
2017 World Masters Games (and/or anyone else, too)

 

[oldcrank]

On-line entries now open. http://www.cyclingmasters.com
New schedule, more team sprints and team pursuits
plus slightly higher entry fees. Time to start saving
for a couple or four Dugast Pista Diamond Silks.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

On-line entries now open. http://www.cyclingmasters.com
New schedule, more team sprints and team pursuits
plus slightly higher entry fees. Time to start saving
for a couple or four Dugast Pista Diamond Silks.

What's the deal with the age category rule for team events? It's silly to place an upper limit on age categories. It should be lower limit only.

e.g. take the 45-54 age category - if you have two guys who are 46, 48, and two who are 55 and they want to form a team, they can't. That's just silly.

Much better to have a rule that goes like this:

A team (which may be 3 or 4 riders) may be formed provided the 3 youngest rider's ages total the minimum for the category.

You can then have categories as follows:

3 youngest riders age total:
105+ years
135+ years
165+ years

That way it allows much greater flexibility in how a team can assemble, enabling more teams to form and race.


In our state team pursuit championships (and road TTT), we have two masters team categories:
all ages (masters must be 30+, IOW any rider 30+ can race)
150+ (the three youngest rider's ages must total at least 150 years)
and we are considering a 180+ category as well.

I think open, 150+ and 180+ are better than 105/135/165.

We used to have the category restrictions with lower and upper age limits. It made getting teams together much harder. When we made the change to using a minimum total age for 3 youngest, team entries doubled and the competition was much better for it.

 

[oldcrank]

oops, posting error see two down

 

[oldcrank]

oops, posting error see below

 

[oldcrank]

What's the deal with the age category rule for team events? It's silly to place an upper limit on age categories. It should be lower limit only.

I agree, my friend. I've ran the 4x400 at the World Masters Athletics
in Gateshead GBR in 1999 and Brisbane AUS in 2001 and they only
have lower age limits. Even though the WMA allow only one team
per nation/per age group (admittedly 5 year grouping, not the ten
year brackets as now in cycling) many, many foursomes, including
winning and record-setting squads had athletes that dropped down
an age-group.

In my opinion, visiting nations will be at a distinct disadvantage with
the rule as it stands, but as there is still several months before the
championships perhaps the UCI and the organizing committee would
be open to submissions/suggestions from other National Federations.

 

[oldcrank]

Good news today from New Zealand that
the Avantidrome in Cambridge will be used
for the track cycling events at the 2017
Auckland NZ World Masters Games.
http://www.worldmastersgames2017.co.nz

 

[oldcrank]

I see the new velodrome is open in Canada and
they just hosted their National Championships.

Of note: Steve Bauer won the TT, the IP, the
scratch and got second in the points race in
the 50+ category (apparently they only have
30-39, 40-49, and 50+ in Canada?) while Gord
Singleton got third in the 50+ sprint. I'm not
sure if Gord contested the 50+ keirin, or what
the results were in that event.

Curt Harnett was also present, not to race, but
in his capacity with the 2015 Pan American Games.

 

[QuizzicalSwin]

Fixed