Track World Champs

[RedheadDane]

Interesting story about one of the para-cyclists:

The remarkable story of Ricardo Ten - Spain’s one-limbed cycling star

The former swimmer is targeting a seventh Paralympics, this time as a cyclist

www.cyclingweekly.com

I suppose referring to his riding as being "electric" would be a bit wrong...

 

[King Boonen]

Women's madison got exciting at the end due to the stoppage, hope no-one was injured. Would have been very unfair if Neah and Elinor had lost, they were on their way to an arms in the air last lap victory then had to fight for it!

 

[Black Betsy]

Interesting story about one of the para-cyclists:

The remarkable story of Ricardo Ten - Spain’s one-limbed cycling star

The former swimmer is targeting a seventh Paralympics, this time as a cyclist

www.cyclingweekly.com

I suppose referring to his riding as being "electric" would be a bit wrong...

Great handlebars!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Women's madison got exciting at the end due to the stoppage, hope no-one was injured. Would have been very unfair if Neah and Elinor had lost, they were on their way to an arms in the air last lap victory then had to fight for it!

They had to neutralise it, but it was a mistake that it didn't happen almost immediately after the crash, and not with two laps to go.

 

[King Boonen]

They had to neutralise it, but it was a mistake that it didn't happen almost immediately after the crash, and not with two laps to go.

Oh yeah, I'm not saying they should have carried on, safety first. But like you said, they could have done it earlier. They also could have lined up based on race position for the restart, rather than starting order.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Oh yeah, I'm not saying they should have carried on, safety first. But like you said, they could have done it earlier. They also could have lined up based on race position for the restart, rather than starting order.

Yes, it was a bit messy. The Brits should definitely have challenged the result, if they had lost the gold in the final sprint. Also big props to Neah Evans for managing to bunny hop over a crashed rider during the race.

 

[King Boonen]

Neah is awesome, and I'm definitely not biased!

 

[Red Rick]

Neah is awesome, and I'm definitely not biased!

She rides a fixie?

 

[Red Rick]

Can anyone who knows more than me explain to me how specialized the kilo is? Like why doesn't the entire sprint and keirin field do it?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Gold no. 2 for Kopecky. Georgia Baker rode very well, too, while Evans probably missed some power after the madison yesterday.

 

[Red Rick]

I just don't understand the madison.

I know the rules, I just don't get it as an event.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Did the Dutch really win the Madison or is it still possible that Van Schip gets the usual DQ for puppy paws?

Some final sprint here. I thought the Belgians had it, but they didn't even make the podium in the end.

 

[King Boonen]

She rides a fixie?

That's not the actual reason, but it's a good one.

 

[Red Rick]

I just don't understand the madison.

I know the rules, I just don't get it as an event.

Did the Dutch really win the Madison or is it still possible that Van Schip gets the usual DQ for puppy paws?

Some final sprint here. I thought the Belgians had it, but they didn't even make the podium in the end.

What the *** I love Madison now

 

[Volderke]

The Madison is the greatest event of all track events.
Next is elimination, 3rd is Keirin, 4th is sprint.

I don't like the events that could be held with one team / rider as that doesn't involve too much competition, like Pursuit, Team Pursuit, Team Sprint, kilo,...

What they could do to help the audience / TV viewers follow the Madison a bit better, is to have e.g. a well-visible LED light on each helmet:
green = peloton
dark green = +1 lap or more
yellow = on the attack
red = -1 lap or more

In this way, everybody could follow who is getting points for the sprint (yellow , next everybody else). Now it's sometimes confusing if riders on the attack are already in the peloton (taking a lap) or not.

You can probably automate the colors based on a receiver on the bike that measures position, speed (in the peloton or not) and position in relation to other bikes.

You can even put a LED light number on the back of each rider, with their actual position in the race. That would help both the riders and the audience.

All of the above can ofcourse be skipped by just learning the rules, watching closely (and hoping the TV director does a good job). If you know how the Madison is raced, it's one of the most exciting events to follow.

 

[Pantani_lives]

My favorite events on the track:

1. Individual pursuit
2. Points race
3. Elimination
4. Sprint
5. Madison
6. Team pursuit
7. Team sprint
8. Kilometer/500m

So my three favorite events are missing from the Olympics.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Madison is cool. Basically I like all the endurance events, points race, omnium and team pursuit. Im not the biggest fan of sprint disciplines, but they are not that bad either.. and para-stuff doesn't excite me at all.

The by far best thing about track is, in my opinion, that it is broadcasted at the optimal time. I have watched lots of track the last 4 days, more than I have ever done to be honest, and its mostly due to it being on at the evening when you have time and want to relax. That and this Super Worlds or whatever they call it, because otherwise I probably wouldn't know it was going on honestly

 

[Red Rick]

Madison, points race and omnium are just too complicated to follow for my liking.


I wish Keirin had a road sprinter in the last wheel for reference.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think something like the men's madison yesterday is brilliant, its a long race around 50 minutes and you basically see constant action with good suspense towards the end. Took some time for me to understand it, but it aint that complicated I think.

 

[DNP-Old]

The omnium is freaking trash nowadays anyway. It used to be a perfect combination of power and endurance. Some guys used to excelled at the flying lap, others excelled at scratch, and you had guys who were good but excelled in neither. It gave a cracking race, spread over two days, and at the end the most complete and consistent rider would win. Nowadays you can just wheel suck yourself to a medal in the points race. That's not an omnium.

'This is way too close a race, we don't want that.'
- Some moron, probably

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Crash a lap at this point in the Elimination race

 

[Red Rick]

Kopecky: "Do I get bonus points for taking a lap in the elimination race?"

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The omnium is freaking trash nowadays anyway. It used to be a perfect combination of power and endurance. Some guys used to excelled at the flying lap, others excelled at scratch, and you had guys who were good but excelled in neither. It gave a cracking race, spread over two days, and at the end the most complete and consistent rider would win. Nowadays you can just wheel suck yourself to a medal in the points race. That's not an omnium.

'This is way too close a race, we don't want that.'
- Some moron, probably

Either the scratch race or the tempo race should really be replaced by a time trial event.

 

[Red Rick]

Either the scratch race or the tempo race should really be replaced by a time trial event.

Tempo is 1 point every lap, scratch is the track equivalent of a criterium with one finish?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Tempo is 1 point every lap, scratch is the track equivalent of a criterium with one finish?

It's just stupid to have 3/4 races being so similar. The scratch race can be interesting if someone gains a lap, but it can also be very dull. You know something will at least happen in the tempo race, but I still think it's just a worse version of the points race.