Sprint (cycling)
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The sprint is a track cycling event involving a one-on-one match race between opponents who, unlike in the individual pursuit, start next to each other.
At major championships, the title is decided on a 'best of three races' format. The initial races may involve more than two riders, with the winners automatically advancing to the next round while the losing riders get a second chance by competing in repechage races.
The event is sometimes called the 1000 metre sprint (reflecting the distance to be covered), but - unlike the sprints in athletics - cycling track sprinters do not start sprinting from the starting line, and also there are no lanes. The early parts of each race will often be highly tactical with riders pedalling slowly, as they carefully watch each other and try 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, in an attempt to make the other rider take the lead. The reason for this apparently strange behaviour, like many track cycling events, is aerodynamics.
When racing at high speed, the rider who manages to stay just behind their opponent can 'slipstream', expending less effort (as they are riding through air that is being pulled along behind the 'lead out' rider, this reduces the speed of the wind the second rider feels). Just before the finish, the trailing rider pulls out of the slipstream, and using their fresher legs may be able to overtake their opponent just before the line. (Of course, some riders choose to accelerate quickly before the last lap, hoping to catch their opponents unawares and establish a large enough gap to negate the aerodynamic effect!)
Only the last 200 m is actually timed (on a 250 m track, the event would therefore involve four circuits of the track). The final 200 m is measured along a 'sprint line' close to the inside edge of the track. The 'lead out' rider will often hug this line forcing his opponent to come the long way round; he is not allowed to swing significantly off this line and deliberately impede his opponent.
Famous track sprinters of the past include Britain's Reg Harris, Australians Dunc Gray and Sid Patterson, Germany's Michael Hubner and Japan's Koichi Nakano.
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[edit] Keirin
The Keirin is a variant of the sprint with a higher number (usually 6-8, or 9 in Japan) of sprinters compete in a very different format. Riders are paced in the early laps by (and required to stay behind) a derny motorcycle, which slowly increases the speed of the race from 25km/h to about 50km/h and leaves the track with about 600-700 meters remaining. The first rider across the finish line in the high-speed (sometimes 70 km/h) finish is the winner.
[edit] Olympic sprint
Despite its name, the Olympic sprint (also known as the team sprint) is not a conventional match sprint contest but a type of short distance three-man team pursuit held over three laps of a velodrome. Like the (much longer) team pursuit event, two teams race against each other, starting on opposite sides of the track. At the end of the first lap, the leading rider in each team drops out of the race by riding up the banking leaving the second rider to lead for the second lap; at the end of the second lap, the second rider does the same, leaving the third rider to complete the last lap on his own.
[edit] Chariot
The chariot is a short, usually one lap, race. Depending on track size, between 4 and 8 cyclists start from a standing start, and do an all out sprint for one lap. The first rider aross the finish line is the winner.
