Updated
29 August 2015
Latest results are
here...
24-09-12
A few photos from the Track Taster day earlier
this year 2-12-14
I thought that I would let you know
how I got on at the recent World Masters Track
Championships (2012). I got two bronze medals. This
one was for the 500 metres time trial, the other was
for the 2km pursuit. Royboy
23-10-12
|
|
TRACK NEWS - 6 May 2009
The Saturday morning Herne Hill track training sessions have begun with
record numbers of riders attending, there are also sessions arranged on
Sundays and Monday evenings, as well as the Derny sessions on Thursday
evenings – check the HH website for further details as well as the
Wednesday Track League and other open meetings
At our last meeting, the Committee agreed to drop the Open Track Meeting
and to devote the time and energy into encouraging club members to try
out the track in less frenetic circumstances than the usual Saturday
morning experience.
Bill and I will be at Herne Hill to run taster sessions on Saturday 9th
and 23rd May with the Club Track Championships taking
place on Sunday 31st May starting at 13.30 hrs.
Once again we are sharing the track hire with Addiscombe although the
races will be run separately; Addiscombe may join in the five mile
scratch race.
Races will include a 500m Handicap, 500m Sprint, Pursuit and 5 mile
Scratch.
Although the meeting is open to all club members, if you have not ridden
the track before, then trying it out on the 31st is probably
not a sensible idea. As I mentioned above there are opportunities to
practice beforehand and I would recommend novices to attend these before
racing.
Timekeepers, holders, and judges will be needed to run the meeting
successfully, so please come along.
Look forward to seeing you at the track.
Jeremy White
|
Want to be the next Jason Queally? Track racing takes
place at Herne Hill Stadium on Monday and Wednesday
evenings (no, not in the winter!). But training sessions are held on
Saturday mornings (throughout the year) and equipment can be hired. We
intend to increase our track presence next year. We're also aiming to get teams
together for the Olympic sprint and team pursuit at the Nationals. We have club
track bikes available to members, so come and join the revolution!
A very successful weekend was spent at
Calshot - so good they plan to do it again...
check out
the photos...
Roy Savery took 2nd place in the 20 lap
Points race (sprints every 5 laps) in the National Masters track
Championships, held in Scumthorpe on 22 September 2007. |
Brian
Dacey sweeps the board at the 2003 National Masters championships at Herne
Hill.
1st 500mt Time Trial, 1st 10
Laps Points Race, 1st Individual Pursuit, 1st 10k Scratch Race, 1st Sprint. |
 |
Peter Jenn on his way to Third place in
the 2000 Masters World Championships |
The following items have been
supplied by your Past Track Secretary, Alaric Lester.
Want to be part of the Track Team?
Have you thought about giving the track a go next year? Do
you want to be a part of some team racing action? Here are some pointers to help
you prepare and to make the transition smoothly.
General
The main difference between road and track events is the higher pedaling
speeds involved. Track riders tend to focus on speed, power and technique a
little more than roadies. Road racing is an excellent basis for endurance track
events, though. To give yourself a better chance on the track, focus your
training a little and converting to track will be easier.
- From March, do at least a couple of
speed sessions a month, maybe half-minute intervals spinning out at 150+ rpm
or five minute sessions at 110-120 rpm. This will help you when the pace
really winds up.
- When riding on a wheel, practice
keeping your head up and your eyes on the small of the back of the person in
front, rather than on their back wheel. You'll have greater awareness of
what's happening on the track and be more confident in the close confines of
a track bunch.
- Try the Saturday training sessions at
Herne
Hill. It's easier to get used to the track before trying a race.
- Come to the Calshot training weekends.
If you can ride there, you can manage a race at Herne Hill.
Olympic Sprint
Unlike the team pursuit, this event requires little stamina, but lots of power.
What we want is teams of three who can sprint.
- Rider 1: must
possess an electric start. Power and acceleration are all-important for the
first 250m. His work is done almost before he reaches full pace.
- Rider 2: needs
to be quick enough to keep up with rider 1, but with a little more staying
power. His job is to keep the team at top speed for another 250m.
- Rider 3: usually
a kilometre time trial rider, this person needs a combination of power and
endurance to ride the final lap without blowing up in embarrassing style.
Like the team time trial, practice helps with the Olympic
Sprint, but is not as important. In 2001, there were weekly Olympic Sprint
events at Monday Comp. Let's have a some De Laune victories there in 2002!
Team Pursuit
It's an easy event to ride, but a difficult one to do well in. It takes practice
and dedication to be good. If we're going to just ride, we can turn up at the
Nationals and go. If we're going to compete, we need to train together.
Practicing all the aspects can reduce times by twenty seconds. Here is a
suggested plan for the season.
- Jan-Mar. Get
the miles in. The team pursuit is an endurance event, and a solid fitness
base built early in the year will pay dividends later. Weight training also
helps.
- Mar-Apr.
Team time trials with other prospective team pursuit riders. You get to know
how the others ride and hone your techniques. You practice going anaerobic
on the front then recovering on a wheel (just like the team pursuit). If you
haven't done one before, give it a whirl.
- Mar 10-11.
Calshot training weekend. A chance to develop general track technique ahead
of the season and to see if you like track riding after all!
- Apr-July. Road
racing (and suitable road-race training). The endurance and strength base is
maintained by road racing. We only need to taper down the miles and increase
intensity around early July.
- Apr-Aug.
Track racing. Where better to improve handling and speed?
- May.
Start practice sessions together, on the track. Maybe twice a month at
first. Riding on the track in a string of four, five or six, practicing
changes, keeping acceleration smooth.
- June-July.
Practicing the start. Practicing the finish. Doing 2000m intervals, trying
different permutations of riders, timing laps. Experimenting with gear
ratios. Some time in July. A day trip to Manchester. What we perfect
on the shallow slopes of Herne Hill just won't work on a tightly banked 250m
track. We need a few hours on Manchester Velodrome to get the technique
right there. Failing this, we can always have a session during the
Nationals, but it's leaving things a little late.
- August.
Do a storming ride! (Or two storming rides if we get two teams together.)
Team pursuit training should complement your own
programme. Depending on enthusiasm and time available, we can scale up or scale
down the number of team sessions. The important thing is for De Laune riders to
be enjoying themselves, enjoying riding the track and enjoying being a part of
the racing team.
Gear Ratios for Track
|
Chainring |
Sprocket |
Gear ratio /inches |
Typical Rollout for a standard tubular /metres* |
|
|
51
|
17
|
81.0
|
6.32
|
Restricted
gear for youths
|
|
42
|
14
|
81.0
|
6.32
|
Restricted
gear for youths
|
|
45
|
15
|
81.0
|
6.32
|
Restricted
gear for youths
|
|
48
|
16
|
81.0
|
6.32
|
Restricted
gear for youths
|
|
52
|
17
|
82.6
|
6.44
|
|
|
49
|
16
|
82.7
|
6.45
|
|
|
46
|
15
|
82.8
|
6.46
|
|
|
43
|
14
|
82.9
|
6.47
|
|
|
53
|
17
|
84.2
|
6.56
|
|
|
50
|
16
|
84.4
|
6.58
|
|
|
47
|
15
|
84.6
|
6.60
|
|
|
44
|
14
|
84.9
|
6.62
|
|
|
54
|
17
|
85.8
|
6.69
|
|
|
51
|
16
|
86.1
|
6.71
|
|
|
48
|
15
|
86.4
|
6.74
|
|
|
45
|
14
|
86.8
|
6.77
|
|
|
42
|
13
|
87.2
|
6.80
|
|
|
52
|
16
|
87.8
|
6.84
|
|
|
49
|
15
|
88.2
|
6.88
|
|
|
46
|
14
|
88.7
|
6.92
|
|
|
43
|
13
|
89.3
|
6.96
|
|
|
53
|
16
|
89.4
|
6.97
|
|
|
50
|
15
|
90.0
|
7.02
|
|
|
47
|
14
|
90.6
|
7.07
|
|
|
54
|
16
|
91.1
|
7.10
|
|
|
44
|
13
|
91.4
|
7.12
|
|
|
51
|
15
|
91.8
|
7.16
|
|
|
48
|
14
|
92.6
|
7.22
|
|
|
45
|
13
|
93.5
|
7.29
|
|
|
52
|
15
|
93.6
|
7.30
|
|
|
49
|
14
|
94.5
|
7.37
|
|
|
53
|
15
|
95.4
|
7.44
|
|
|
46
|
13
|
95.5
|
7.45
|
|
|
50
|
14
|
96.4
|
7.52
|
|
|
54
|
15
|
97.2
|
7.58
|
|
|
47
|
13
|
97.6
|
7.61
|
|
|
51
|
14
|
98.4
|
7.67
|
|
|
48
|
13
|
99.7
|
7.77
|
|
|
52
|
14
|
100.3
|
7.82
|
|
|
49
|
13
|
101.8
|
7.93
|
|
|
53
|
14
|
102.2
|
7.97
|
|
|
50
|
13
|
103.8
|
8.10
|
|
|
54
|
14
|
104.1
|
8.12
|
|
|
51
|
13
|
105.9
|
8.26
|
Max.
gear for rollers
|
|
52
|
13
|
108.0
|
8.42
|
|
|
53
|
13
|
110.1
|
8.58
|
|
|
54
|
13
|
112.2
|
8.74
|
|
* Based on a tyre circumference of 210.5
centimetres.
Serious trackies have at least ten chainrings and four or
five sprockets. This lets them choose the exact gear for each track and event.
Most of us have to make do with a smaller selection, though.
For Herne Hill, 49 x 15 or 46 x 14 is a common choice,
although the stronger riders use higher ratios. Manchester is a fast track, so
use bigger gears there.
Small chainrings allow slightly faster acceleration, big
chainrings roll better. A sprinter might use 43 x 13, a pursuiter would do
better going for 53 x 16.
Different events (& people) call for different gears.
An elite kilo rider may use a gear up to 100 inches. Graeme Obree used massive
gears (and a weird bike).
Experiment. Ask other riders what they prefer. Some
training sessions will require you to use a lower gear and spin out. For
standing start practice, you should overgear to develop power.
If you don't have a gear chart with you, use these
formulae:
Gear (in inches) = No. of teeth on chainwheel x 27"
divided by No. of teeth on sprocket
Rollout = No. of teeth on chainwheel x distance for 1
revolution of rear wheel divided by No. of teeth on sprocket
The distance for 1 revolution depends on the tyre. If you
use an 18mm tyre, a larger gear is necessary to go the same distance as with a
standard tyre. It's worth checking, in case you need to swap wheels
unexpectedly.
To work out pedal revolutions for an event, divide the
distance by the rollout. Using 50 x 15 (7.02m rollout) for a pursuit,
4000m divided by 7.02m = 570 revolutions
Allowing three seconds to account for the standing start,
average revolutions for a time of 5:00 minutes would be:
570 revs divided by (5 + 3/60) minutes = 113 rpm
If you were looking at doing 5:20, though:
570 revs divided by (5 +20/60 + 3/60) minutes = 106 rpm
Alaric
Re: November 2002 issue of
Classic Bike.
On page 65 you have a very interesting article on motor pacing at Herne
Hill. Our Cycling club is based there and our members would be very
interested in the article. Would it be possible for me to obtain
permission to copy said article to our website?
Mike Peel
Here it is....
Yes, you can put the
article on the website so long as Classic Bike is prominently credited: 'Feature
reproduced by permission of Classic Bike magazine - November 2002 issue'
Regards
Becky Cornell
Editorial Assistant
|
