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Photo courtesy JE Cameron

Monday and Thursday Night Racing
Greater Victoria Velodrome Association

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Monday Night Racing - Sprint Night


Scared of riding in a pack? Monday night is a perfect time to come on out. Track riding is "interval training like no other". You'll start by doing individual time trials, typically 200m, 500m or 1000m distances against the clock. Other events will include individual pursuit, team pursuit, team sprint and matched print. Click here for more info on the different races.

Thursday Night Racing - Group Night


This is the "main event" with racing for everyone from the beginner to elite riders (Cat A, B and C). The night will typically start with a "scratch" race of between 15 and 60 laps. Other events will include Points Race, Miss and Out, Win and Out, Keirin, Madison, and Omnium. Click here for a description of the different types of races.
Scoring

Points will be based on the # of racers, "plus one", so for example if 6 racers compete, the 1st place finisher gets 7pts (6 'racers' "plus one"), and the points decend from there, with a one point jump from 1st to 2nd, so the 2nd place finisher would get 5pts, 3rd would get 4pts, down to one point for the 6th final finisher. This scoring system is an attempt to award points appropriately - if there are more racers, more points are awarded, less riders means less potential points. Hopefully this results in less point descrepencies between riders.

Points will be based in each Category (A, B, C) - riders who wish to move up a category start the new Category with 1/2 the points from their previous Category. (So if you have 50pts in B, and move up to A, you start with 25pts.)

The one exception to the Category rule is the 'Stagger Dagger' race, which is 'Open', and points are distributed to all riders, but Category is ignored, so if there are 10 riders, and a C is the winner, s/he gets 11pts in C, the B rider who finished 2nd would get 9pts in B, and so on. This is a closing race for most nights, and a chance for riders to collect extra points!

In the Thursday Points file is a 'TOTAL POTENTIAL PTS' field - this indicates how many points a rider could have collected that night in that category, so if the total is 20pts, a rider who won all the races would score 20pts as a 'Perfect Score'.

The 'Thursday Results' file shows what races occured each night, and the placing of each rider. GVVA points are listed in the 'Thursday Points' file.

Monday Night Racing - Events


Flying 200 - Depending on the size of the track, riders have between one and three laps to build up speed before the clock starts. They will ride around the very top of the track as they near the start line, then drop down to the bottom to gain as much speed as possible from rolling down the steep inclined banking. Used as a qualifying race for the Matched Sprint and as an Ominium event.
YouTube Flying 200

500m Time Trial - This event is a straight out race against the clock from a standing start over 500m, - 1 1/2 laps at our velo. Riders will keep to the black line at the bottom of the track to ensure they have to cover the least distance over the 1000m.
YouTube 500m TT

1000m or "kilo" - This event is a straight out race against the clock from a standing start over 1000m, and on our velo is 3 laps. Riders will keep to the black line at the bottom of the track to ensure they have to cover the least distance over the 1000m.
YouTube 1000m Time Trial

Matched Sprint - Riders start by doing a qualifying Flying 200m sprint. Based on times, riders are paired up. The riders then race against each other for 2 or 3 laps. The early parts of each race will often be highly tactical with riders pedaling slowly, as they carefully jockey for position, often trying to force their opponents up high on the track in an attempt to get their rivals to make the first move. Some even bring their bicycles to a complete stop, balanced upright with both feet still on the pedals (a track stand. Fun to race and exciting to watch!
YouTube Matched Sprint

Individual Pursuits - Exciting to watch, two racers start at the centre of the straightaway on opposite sides of the track. Each is racing for the best time and using the opposing rider as a guage for how well they are doing. Typically 3000 or 4000 meters (9 or 12 laps).
YouTube Individual Pursuit

Team Pursuits - Two teams of four riders each start from opposite sides of the track. The winning team is decided by the front wheel of the third member’s bike crossing the finish line. If one of the teams is ‘lapped’ during the medal round, the fastest team is declared the winner. If one of the riders on a team cannot finish, the team may continue with three riders. Typically 3000 or 4000 meters (9 or 12 laps)
YouTube 4000m Team Pursuit

Team Sprint (formerly Olympic Sprint): This quick and exciting race has the same starting format as the team pursuit, but with only three riders per team. In this race, after each lap the lead rider ‘peels off’ out of the race. By the final lap there is only one rider left sprinting to the finish line.
YouTube Olympic Sprint

Thursday Night Racing - Events


Points Race - This is a massed start event with up to 40 riders on the track at a time. Riders try to gain the largest number of points over the course of the race. Points are awarded to the top four riders on certain laps, double points are awarded on the final lap. The rider with the farthest distance traveled and the greatest number of points at the end of the race wins: this may not necessarily be the rider that crossed the finish line first. Riders who are ‘lapped’ are permitted to stay in the race. If they are lapped twice, they may be eliminated. This race is amongst the most difficult to judge, as you can imagine.
YouTube Points Race

Miss and Out - This is a massed start event where the last rider on every second lap is eliminated and must leave the track. YouTube Miss and Out

Win and Out - This is a massed start race in which the first rider over the line after the designated distance is eliminated from the race, and placed first. Subsequent bell lap leaders are eliminated and placed 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on.
YouTube Win and Out

Keirin - This is the predominant form of competitive cycling in Japan, where the race originated. Fans go to the Keirin meets and bet on the outcome. Up to eight cyclists start in a single file along the track. A motorcycle paces the field, leading them faster and faster around the track for three laps until it peels off. Then the riders are free to sprint for the finish line. Strength, courage and aggression are required to get the optimum position for the final lunge for the line.
YouTube Keirin

Madison - This is a relay event and one of the most fun to watch. A maximum of twenty teams of two men are on the track, trying to gain a lap on their opponents and score points during sprint laps. There is no official exchange zone and at any one time, only one member of the team is involved in the competition. While one team member races, the other member circles high on the track to rest. When the resting rider rejoins the competition, his teammate slings him into the fray, either by a hand sling or a firm push on the hip.
YouTube Madison

Omnium - Each competitor rides in five events - 200m flying time trial, 5km scratch race, 3km individual pursuit, 15km points race and 1km time trial - all of which must be completed. Points are awarded in reverse order, with the winning rider of each event getting one point, and the rider with the lowest number of points overall is the winner.
YouTube Omnium