With a vocabulary that includes ‘Cote d’Azure’, ‘Keirin’, and ‘Madison’, it is no wonder that many roadies view velodrome riding as a mysterious corner of cycling. Fortunately for riders in northern California, the Hellyer Velodrome welcomes new track riders with Saturday morning beginner sessions. After a few beginner sessions, riders seeking more track experience can attend one of excellent clinics that Performance Cycle Coaching, PCC, runs. I had the good fortune to attend the PCC Sprint Clinic, where I was introduced to the Match Sprint.
The seeding for the Match Spring begins with a flying 200m time trial. Lee Povey, PCC coach and leader of the Sprint Clinic, immediately identified me as a new rider and called me over to explain the flying 200. The idea is to use the first two laps to loosen the legs, and then build speed over the final lap. By staying high on the track while building speed, the rider translates potential energy into kinetic energy, i.e. speed, as they cross the 200m start line and descend to the inside line of the track. At this point the rider is at maximum speed, which they try to maintain until the finish. Lee placed me close to last on the time trial start list so that I could watch the more experienced riders. A well executed 200m time trial is a model of efficiency, with no wasted motion, and optimal use of the track to build speed. The fastest riders were putting in times under 11.5 seconds, and many riders were under 13 seconds. My time was 14.7 seconds, which was second slowest.
The 200m times are used to seed the bracket for the Match Sprint races. The Match Sprint is a unique form of racing with a simple format. Anywhere from 2 to 4 riders start at the same time, and compete in a two or three lap race (in our case it was two riders competing in a two lap race). The first across the finish line wins. The art of the match sprint is to balance factors such as position on the track, drafting, and distance. The inside line of the track is the shortest distance, but a rider positioned high on the track has the advantage of observing their opponent more easily, gaining speed when going to the inside line, and drafting. A Match Sprint between two skilled and fit riders looks like a chess match, with riders making move and counter move to optimize their position. Often the start of the Match Sprint is slow, but the race usually finishes with an explosive effort. Drafting tactics are somewhat different than on the road. The ideal position in the Match Sprint is two bikes lengths behind the lead rider, as this allows room to accelerate while minimizing the motion up the track.
Normally the fastest riders are paired with the slowest riders. For the clinic, Lee instead paired riders with close to equal times, which allowed for more experimentation during race. Since I lack both the riding skills and the mental capacity to execute the usual Match Sprint tactics, I decided that I would start each race as fast as possible, try to hold my speed, and try to drop my competitor. And this tactic actually worked. I won my first two races with some margin. We then switched to a three competitor race, and once again, my tactic of going out as fast as possible and holding on worked. However, as I moved up the bracket, the short comings of this approach were exposed. During the last race of the day, a combination of increased fatigue on my part and the increased fitness levels of my two competitors allowed them to latch on my wheel right away, and I was passed during the last 200 meters.
The PCC Sprint Clinic was a great learning experience for me. I will readily admit to being intimidated at the start of the clinic when I saw experienced riders with aero wheels and skin suits warming up on rollers. I felt like I was only one who did not know what was going on. This feeling passed over the day, as Lee went out of his way to explain each part of the clinic, and provided valuable feedback after each race. With each session on the track, I feel more and more fortunate to have access to the Hellyer Velodrome, and I will certainly consider attending more PCC clinics.