After the individual pursuit was removed from the Olympic programme, this has become the blue-riband event of track cycling.
Riders race as teams (each team starting on opposite sides of the track known as the home straight and the back straight) over a distance of 4km.
Teams of four work in harmony to do their allotted amount of work on the front of the quartet, before using the corners of the velodrome to swing up and then back down to re-join their team at the back.
A common strategy nowadays is to expend all the energies of one rider, and drop your team down to three riders – as only three need to finish for a legal time.
When a team is working well together it’s like poetry in motion; when they are not then it can really look bad.
Races end in one of two ways – either one team completes the distance quicker than the other or one team catches the other.
The latter of the two is seen as complete domination over your opponents.
Team GB have a strong chance in both women’s and men’s events, as do Italy. Denmark men’s and German women’s teams also have a very realistic chance of a medal.
Key words to watch out for include:
- Kilo; Short for kilometre.
- Turn: The amount of time someone is spending at the front – a short turn is not a lot, a monster turn is a significant length.
- Dropped; When a rider is intentionally or otherwise unable to keep up with their teammates.
The Cycling Track program is from 5th August to 11th August.
The Men’s Team Pursuit has the qualifying on 5th, first round on 6th, and finals on 7th August.
For the women, qualifying starts on 6th, with both first and final rounds completing on the 7th August.
