🚴♀️🚴♂️ Commonwealth Games cycling medals are at stake as Lee Valley VeloPark hosts the Birmingham 2022 Track Cycling.
NEWSFLASH: Birmingham 2022 Track Cycling is a wrap! Four days of competition reached a memorable finale when England’s Laura Kenny – GB’s most successful female Olympian with five gold medals – won gold in the women’s scratch race. It was Kenny’s first Commonwealth title since 2014 and England’s first cycling gold of the Birmingham Games.
🎟️ Suffering track cycling withdrawal symptoms? Help is at hand! The UCI Track Champions League returns to Lee Valley VeloPark this December. Featuring the world’s highest profile riders two days of superb action in the velodrome is guaranteed. Tickets are on sale here. And in the meantime … 👇
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The velodrome at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is the place to be from Friday 29 July to Monday 1 August as some of the best cyclists and para-cyclists in the world compete for glory at Birmingham 2022 Track Cycling.
Medals will be available in the Sprint/Para-Sport Tandem Sprint, Time Trial, Individual Pursuit, Team Pursuit, Team Sprint and Keirin disciplines as competitors from around the world compete to become Commonwealth Games champions.
An action-packed four days for spectators is guaranteed as cyclists and para-cyclists race on the steep banking of the capital’s famous velodrome reaching speeds touching 80 kilometres per hour.
Tickets are now off-sale.
Daily sessions as follows
Friday 29 July:10am-1pm and 4pm-6.30pm
Saturday 30 July: 10.15am-2.15pm and 4pm-7pm
Sunday 31 July: 10am-1.30pm and 5pm-7pm
Monday 1 August: 2pm-7pm
Travel tips: The Velodrome is accessible by train, tube, bus, bike, car and taxi. Public transport is recommended. See this guide to visiting Lee Valley VeloPark for full details.
🚴♀️🚴♂️ Track Cycling disciplines
Sprint/Para-Sport Tandem Sprint
The Sprint takes in three laps of the track, while the Tandem Sprint is conducted over five laps. Following a 200m time trial qualifier, riders are seeded into heats of two riders, with the winners going through to the next round of the competition. From the quarter-finals onwards the winner is determined from the best of three heats. After lots are drawn to determine riders’ starting positions, the rider who draws the inside starting position must lead the first half lap of the race. At this stage, riders assume the optimum position on the track, before a dramatic sprint to the finish line.
Time Trial
In this event, cyclists ride alone in a race against the clock. With a distance of 1,000 metres for men and 500 metres for women, the fastest finish time wins. Birmingham 2022 will also feature a Time Trial Tandem para sport event. Both the men’s and women’s events will take place over a distance of 1,000 metres.
Individual Pursuit
Starting on opposite sides of the track, cyclists race not only against each other, but against the clock. The two fastest riders will go through to the Gold medal event, with the third and fourth fastest competing for Bronze. The men’s race is 4,000 metres, while women will compete over a distance of 3,000m.
Team Pursuit
In this event, teams of four race over a distance of 4000m. In qualifiers, each team begin alone in a race against the clock. The time of the team is taken on the third rider, but all four riders play an equal part, with the lead rider staying at the front for around one lap before dropping to the back.
The two fastest teams will go through to complete for the Gold, while a Bronze medal race will also be contested. Like the individual event, opponents in the finals start on opposite sides of the track. The first team to cross the finish line wins, but the race can end earlier if a team is adjudged to have caught their opponent – this occurs if they come within one metre of that team.
Scratch Race
Cyclists compete over a distance of 15km for men, and 10km for women. The first across the line wins. Riders ‘lapped’ by other competitors must leave the race.
Points Race
A field of up to 24 riders compete over 40km in the men’s event and 25km for women. The object of the event is to accumulate points over the course of the race. Sprints will occur on every 10 laps with first place receiving five points, second place three points, third place two points and fourth place one point (with these points doubling in the final sprint). Riders who lap the field will be awarded 20 points, while those who are lapped will lose 20 points – making it possible to finish with a negative point total. The rider with the most points at the end of the race will claim the win.
Team Sprint
This event sees teams of three riders ride across three laps of the track. After the first lap, the leading rider leaves the track and plays no further part in the race, with a second rider departing after lap two. The third rider remains on the track to finish the race for their team. The two fastest teams will compete for the Gold medal.
Keirin
Taken from the Japanese word for ‘fight’ this race sees riders initially line up in a pre-drawn order behind a pacesetter on a motorcycle, known as a ‘derny’. Riders are not allowed to pass the derny until it leaves the track with three laps to go. At this point, riders will sprint, with the first one across the line sealing the win.
👀 LOVE LIVE SPORT? Visit our ‘What’s On’ page here for the No. 1 guide to spectator experiences coming up in LONDON. And to ensure you don’t miss a moment of the action subscribe here to our newsletter. 👀