Apologies if this has been posted before, but I just saw this today.


The video is over six minutes long, but every second is riveting. Absolutely insane.

Never getting a fight with a dude that looks like that. I'd probably get knocked out if one of them just stood next to me and flexed his bicep.

holy ****, mad track stand skills then just balls out MASH

i was like meh.

then i was like

WHAT

All of a sudden I feel extremely weak.

Neat old video. Match sprint strategy has changed a lot over the last 20 years. Today, you don't see a lot of track standing and slow riding. Riders at the world pro level run monster gears and it's often a drag race right from the start. Even at my amateur master's national championships I didn't see any track stands and the sprints began long before the 200m to go mark. Gym work is critical in sprinter training, and those guys probably spent more time training in the gym than they did on the bike.

that was insane.... my hands where shaking with anticipation.

Oh jesus.

edit:

any track cyclists, can you please explain to me why they start out so slow? and why the guy trackstanded in order to get behind the other guy?

they stay behind because when you are in front the other person can easily make a sneak attack from your side without you expecting it.

thats neat. like a 1v1 keirin.

I watched that a couple weeks ago and was just as impressed as I am right now. I love a good match sprint.

I got to do a match sprint with Henry Shibata when I went to see what track is all about. God, it's a lot more stressful when you're the one trying to stay on the wheel of the other guy. I caught the guy's wheel but no way could I pass him

Would have been way more ****** if one of them started with the seated trackstands, and then went no handed, and was like "yeah what up now?"

track is that way>>>>>

This is SS/FG


J/K,that was a good vid to watch.

reminded me of this video

they should have barspinned while waiting for the other guy to pass.

I was watching the British nationals, and while there was no long term track stands(I believe there are limits in place now) there was definatly a lot of low speed goating, and then a quick burst, then a ride up track to try to drop back in behind. You still dont see much full on 3 lap sprints, except in early rounds and heavy mismatches.

That video got me when the Star Wars music started playing.


If you had your sound off, the commentator also discusses this, which is pretty interesting.

+1

The reason is that in events at this level, the athletes are very evenly matched, so every advantage helps tremendously. When the riders aren't evenly matched, strategy and front/back position don't matter much if at all. 99% of the time guy with the most horse power will win. When they are evenly matched, the point is the get to the rear in order to benefit from the draft of the front rider which saves the rear rider something like 20-30% of his energy during the final sprint. This means that the front guy maybe be churning at 100% and the rear guy 70-80% and they are both going 40MPH. That's how the guy in the rear has a bit more juice at the end to step out into the wind and come around at the last 1/2 lap. That's the general plan anyway.

Aerodynamics are *really* influential once the riders get over 30MPH. For a quick example: When in a car driving around 30+ MPH put your hand a few inches behind the mirror, then lift it out and see how the wind affects it...even with fingers open or closed.

This is sort of true. But a well trained athlete can watch you from the front at all times.

This stuff is like 90% racing and 10% entertainment, hence the lights, music, alcohol etc... For example, I think UCI rules state that trackstands can only last 15 seconds. Obviously not the case here. I don't know enough to say that the races are fake. But there is definitely a LOT of showmanship by the athletes.

Here is a better representation of racing at the local, national, and world level these days:

huebner is a beast

Oh hahaha, I didn't even realize carleton was the one who posted that until I read the sig. Nice avatar. Striking likeness.

Allright, I understand the theory of trying to be the one tailing so you can slip into the front right at the end. But in the second video what the hell happened? So they track stand, for over 5 minutes and orange is the first to snap out of the track stand putting green guy in the desirable position. Then not a lap goes by before green passes takes the less desirable position and then still wins it, well then what was the damn track stand even for? Was it all a ploy? "haha Im gonna make you track stand here for 5 minutes just for kicks and then i'm just gonna beat you anyway"

What happened?

First, this was a show sprint as Carleton said. Hoy was much faster than Wolf, and was going to win no matter what strategy was used. Second, Hoy did not take the lead, he simply did a sling shot around Wolf and gained speed for the win. Wolf never had a chance to draft Hoy. Also, the rider that is second does not always win and in fact some riders use the inverse tactic of deliberately taking the lead while steadily increasing the pace, which is called "razoring." It's harder to pass someone, because you must do so on the outside (uptrack), and the track is longer in the turns the higher up you go. Basically, to win from behind, you must be considerably faster than your opponent.

I guess track racing (along with monster truck rallies and math) is something that just goes right over my head. I nearly fell asleep watching that video and didn't find one second of it exciting or "riveting" in any way. My cat is laying on the windowsill watching the old man next door vacuum his car and I'm a little jealous.

Different strokes, I suppose...

carleton - great avatar, btw

Pretty much.

That stuff is for show. It's like exhibition racing for the crowds. I wouldn't look to videos like that as examples.

Here's another example: