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The sprint or match sprint is a track cycling event involving between two and four riders, though it is usually run as a one-on-one match race between opponents who, unlike in the individual pursuit, start next to each other. Men's sprint has been an Olympic event at every games except 1904 (which had races at seven different distances) and 1912 (which had no track cycling events). Women's sprints have been contested at every Olympics since 1988.
Depending on the size of the velodrome, this event can be from 250 m to 1000 m. Unlike the sprints in athletics, these events do not usually start with riders sprinting from the starting line and they are not confined to lanes. The early parts of each race will often be highly tactical with riders pedalling slowly, as they carefully jockey for position, often trying to force their opponents up high on the track in an attempt 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 and both hands on the handle bars (a track stand), in an attempt to make the other rider take the lead. Track stands can only be held for a certain time and it is not permissible to go backwards in a track stand by rocking backwards and forwards as the judge will be following the track stand from the bottom of the track. The reason for this behaviour, as in many track cycling events, is both aerodynamics and tactics.
When racing at high speed, the rider who manages to stay just behind their opponent can draft, expending less effort. By riding behind the 'lead out' rider, the second rider reduces the aerodynamic drag felt. Just before the finish, the trailing rider pulls out of the slipstream, and aided by fresher legs, may be able to overtake the opponent before the line. To prevent this, the leading rider may choose to accelerate quickly before the last lap, hoping to catch their opponent off guard and establish a large enough gap to negate the aerodynamic effect or to keep the speed high enough to prevent their opponent from completing a pass.
During the race, the lead out rider may choose to hug the measurement line on the inside of the track giving them the shortest path around the track. Likewise, they may choose to hug the sprinter's line (a red line 85 cm up track) to force their opponent to come higher over the top of them. The sprinter's line defines the sprinter's lane; once the sprint is initiated riders may not drop into the sprinter's lane or cross out of the lane unless they have a clear lead over their opponent.
As defined by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules, the first round of competition used to qualify for the sprint competition is the flying 200 m time trial. In this round each rider completes two to three warm up laps and then completes the final 200 m, which is usually just under a lap. The number of riders that qualify for the sprint rounds depends on the competition; in World Cup competitions, 16 riders will advance and in a world championship, 24 riders will advance. The top riders are seeded in the following rounds, meaning the fastest qualifier will face the slowest qualifier and so on. Knock-out rounds then proceed, initially on a one race basis and then on a best-of three-race format from the quarter-final stage. Riders defeated in the earlier rounds may get a chance to continue in the competition through the repechage races.
The Netherlands and Canada currently hold two of the major titles in this event. Harrie Lavreysen is Olympic men's sprint champion, and Kelsey Mitchell is the Olympic women's sprint champion.
The Keirin is a variant of the sprint in which 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 are required to stay behind) a Derny motorcycle, which slowly increases the speed of the race from 25 km/h to about 50 km/h. It then leaves the track with about 600–700 m remaining. The first rider across the finish line in the high-speed (sometimes 70 km/h) finish is the winner.
The men's team sprint (also known as the Olympic sprint) is a 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, but 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. In the women's event, teams of two compete over a two-lap distance. The team sprint has been an Olympic event for men since 2000 and for women since 2012.
The chariot is a short, usually one lap, race. Depending on track size, between four and eight cyclists start from a standing start, and do an all out sprint for one lap. The first rider across the finish line is the winner.
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Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. In the Olympic Games, long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just "speed skating", while short-track speed skating is known as "short track". The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of competitive ice sports, refers to long track as "speed skating" and short track as "short track skating".
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome.
The track time trial is a track cycling event where cyclists compete individually against the clock to record the fastest time over the specified distance from a standing start.
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A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement curve.
A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating. In the Olympic Games, there are several types of relay races that are part of track and field. Relay race, also called Relay, is a track-and-field sport consisting of a set number of stages (legs), usually four, each leg run by different members of a team. The runner finishing one leg is usually required to pass the next runner a stick-like object known as a "baton" while both are running in a marked exchange zone. In most relays, team members cover equal distances: Olympic events for both men and women are the 400-metre and 1,600-metre relays. Some non-Olympic relays are held at distances of 800 m, 3,200 m, and 6,000 m. In the less frequently run medley relays, however, the athletes cover different distances in a prescribed order—as in a sprint medley of 200, 200, 400, 800 metres or a distance medley of 1,200, 400, 800, 1,600 metres.
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The Little 500, is a track cycling race held annually during the third weekend of April at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. It is attended by more than 25,000 fans.
The team sprint is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome.
A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages, but sometimes stages are held as an individual time trial or a team time trial. Long races such as the Tour de France, Absa Cape Epic or the Giro d'Italia are known for their stages of one day each, whereas the boat sailing Velux 5 Oceans Race is broken down in usually four stages of several weeks duration each, where the competitors are racing continuously day and night. In bicycling and running events, a race with stages is known as a stage race.
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The Six Day London is a six-day track cycling race held annually in London, United Kingdom. The competition consists of six consecutive evening sessions of track cycling: Madison, Sprint, Elimination, Keirin, Derny and Team Time Trial disciplines. Six day invites the world's elite Men's and Women's riders, as well as sprinters and emerging talent from around the world. The overall winner is the team which takes the most laps.