Originally Posted by cmh
Most track events favor sprinters and short bursts of power.
Not.
Some track events favor sprinters and short bursts of power (match sprints), but there's something on the track for every type of racer-- most races favor a varying mix of aerobic and anaerobic power.
Kilo is heavy on the anaerobic, but lasts a little over a minute, so you've got to have some aerobic power, too. It's a lot like a 400.
Keirin removes the endurance part by using a motor to get everyone to race speed, then is a huge burst of power, but up to 30 s, depending on how far out the sprint starts.
Pursuit is 4:30-5:30 minutes long-- very endurance oriented, but some anaerobic power thrown in.
Team Pursuit is like a kilo that lasts 4:30-5:00
Mass start events (Scratch, Points, Miss & Out, Tempo) favor endurance people with some high end, and good positioning ability. Scratch races can be anywhere from 2.5 km to 15 km, Points races from 10 km to 40 km, Miss & Out and Tempo usually shorter, but both are more about riding tempo with small sub-max bursts.