Riders start in teams of three.
Each rider does one lap on the front before finishing their effort and stopping; the lead rider does one lap, rider two does two laps, and the third rider has to do all three – and presumably fight against the lactic acid screaming in their legs to stop.
It is a timed event where the fastest team wins, with one team in the home straight and one team starting in the back straight.
These races are often decided by hundredths and thousandths of seconds.
For the women’s competition, the teams to watch are the Germans and the French – although there are many strong teams outside of them. For the men, the overwhelming favourites are the Dutch but, again, in such a tight event one bit of luck can change everything.
Key word to listen out for:
- Rider & number; the position they are starting in which here neatly corresponds to the number of laps their part of the race will be.
- Changeover; the time and the area in which one rider swings up the track to end their effort and the next rider begins theirs. A mistime here will risk teams losing speed or, in some cases, being disqualified.
The Cycling Track program runs from 5th August to 11th August.
The Women’s Team Sprint is on 5th throughout the day.
The Men’s is on 5th and 6th August.
