The velodrome is the realm of sheer speed and control of the bike, and so it’s no surprise that many famous road sprinters and time-trial racers come from track cycling and even devote part of their winter training to perfecting their skills at the velodrome, the ideal place to increase their form during periods of bad weather.

Spectators who are unfamiliar with track cycling might at first only perceive the apparent monotony of racers doing a string of laps around the track – and short ones at that, given the speed at which they go – but this perception will quickly fade for those who take a closer look, and observe how the racers place themselves strategically to beat their opponents in different kinds of races (individual, in pairs and in teams of four) and how they are physically able to maintain such a high speed. And the banking on the turns, where the track seems to meld into the vertical wall, makes it seem as if the racers are able to defy the laws of Newton. In reality, they are taking advantage of the force of inertia which keeps them from falling, but this doesn’t make the spectacle any less breathtaking.

Beginning in the nineteenth century

In all likelihood, competitive cycling began in velodromes, although at that time they were little more than rings of packed earth. Already in the nineteenth century, and well before the first major road races, the velodrome was a frequent week-end recreation and meeting point across the world.

The first Six Day race (literally, the number of days of exertion that at that time that the participants endured) was held in England in 1878, no less. The first track cycling World Championship was held in 1893, well before the first such championship road race in 1927, and there were even a few track cycling events at the first Olympic Games of modern history, in 1896. During the twentieth century, road racing gained greater popularity, but track cycling still attracts many fans, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, in Germany, and in Belgium, where cycling is a true cult.

And, of course, the stage for the feats on the track have also evolved, thanks to new technical and material developments. Most velodromes today are covered, and the tracks are made of painted wood, or otherwise, cement.

These oval-shaped tracks usually do not measure less than 250 metres; for international competitions, however, the minimum is the curious figure of 333.3 metres. One feature that grabs your attention is the outslope, or highest part of outer edge of the track, which at the turns can bank at 45º.. half-way to vertical! The outslope helps inertia to keep the cyclists from going off the track and adds tremendous excitement when racers overtake against the rail, and cyclist and bicycle are almost parallel to the ground… It makes you dizzy!

The track bike is the lightest of the cycling world, and it is used to experiment, for example, to achieve greater aerodynamics and handling on the road. Newcomers to the sport might be surprised that these bikes don’t have brakes or gear shifts. Their fixed gear means that the biker has to pedal constantly, and has to slow down progressively in order to come to a full stop. If you suddenly stop pedalling, the bike will brake abruptly and you’ll go tumbling to the ground, so lots of skill is needed to handle this piece of equipment.

Formats and celebrations

Furthermore, the apparent simplicity of the oval circuit allows for a number of different formats. In international competition, these usually include Individual Pursuit, a four-kilometre race where the two cyclists begin the race at opposite sides of the track, and the winner is the pursuer who manages to catch up with the other, or gets closer; Team Pursuit, the Kilo time trial, Sprint (where the last 200 metres are timed), Keirin (the Japanese version of the Sprint but go behind a motorcycle), Scratch (a 10-15 km race, where the first one wins but can also gain a lap over the others), Points race (40 km for men and 25 for women, with several sprints interspersed which award points to the winners) and Madison, the “American race” in pairs.

It is actually in this latter format that two great Spanish cyclists formed a duo: Joan Llaneras, the Olympic and world medallist many times over, and Isaac Gálvez, who passed away tragically last November during the Ghent Six Day race, which was suspended. The accident brought mourning to what usually is a big celebration, the Six Day race between Europe and the U.S.: six days of intense bike races, with performances that go well beyond the sport of cycling.