Track Cycling: Velodrome Racing and Training Area - sprint form

im pretty new to track riding, and want to perfect my sprinting form. what tips and advice can you give me for sprinting effcently?



i currently ride with my elbows bent and my head/shoulders roughly over the top of the bars, and my centre of gravity somwhere in the middle of the top tube.

when the bike sways from side to side, should i let this happen under the natural movement of my feet, or resist it with my arms. or maybe should i add more sway with my arms?

i find myself tilting my feet forward due to my forward body position on the bike, is this good practise or should i keep my feet level?

where should my weight be balanced? equally between both wheels, front, back?

Sprinting on the track is a lot different from sprinting on the road. On the road, you see a lot of guys swinging the bike back and forth like none other. On the track, you want to keep more control. Ideally, your bike should not be swaying much at all. Your weight should be near the back and you should be trying to utilize the stiffness of your bike for maximum acceleration. Watch more experienced riders doing sprint exercises. You'll see that their form while standing is similar to their form while seated. The key is not to induce or resist swinging your bike back and forth. Instead, just try to put all your power into moving the pedals and forward acceleration.

A drill a much faster friend had me do on the track... try riding 2 laps standing the entire time. On the first lap, gradually get up to full speed. On the second lap, maintain it. Try to be straight/predictable throughout. That'll teach you some proper standing technique fast...

A major difference between a sprinting road biker and a sprinting track rider is the equipment, and that's generally the source of the 'rocking'.

A road bike is balanced differently because the rider is positioned on it differently, generally with more of a slight rearward weight bias. When the roadie begins sprinting, he or she lurches forward and dramatically over-weights the front end, causing instability.

The track bike, particularly those intended for sprinting events, is balanced with a slight weight-forward bias. Thus, when a sprinter on the track gets out of the saddle, he or she doesn't go forward as much stands up, retaining the bike-and-rider system's balance. Combine this with a sprinter's bike's significant amount of trail and the bike is actually very stable, despite the (absurdly named) 'aggressive' geometry.

If you find yourself rocking when you sprint, perhaps you should consider revising your fit on your bike. It should not be like that of your road bike. Proper fit should also smooth out a sloppy pedal-stroke, which is another contributor to instability. Another trick that should help keep you steady is to take your saddle and position it to put the nose of the saddle where your crotch is when you're out of the saddle. That will keep the bike steady. If you can't get your saddle to that point, then that might be a good indicator that your bike is either too long in bar-to-saddle reach or bar-to-saddle drop.