Velodrome 101

AS I SIT down to write this, I’ve just returned from a track session hosted by a local cycling club, at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre Velodrome. Located in Milton, 60 kilometres outside of Toronto, this facility is easily accessible to many in southern Ontario. Cycling at a velodrome means riding a fixed-gear bike that does not have brakes around an oval, banked track. To gain any kind of physical benefit from this cycling discipline, you need to be comfortable whirling around a 250-metre sloped wooden or asphalt track with up to 20 people riding in close proximity. If that all sounds a bit scary, don’t worry: it doesn’t have to be. I remember how intimidated I was my first time at a velodrome at a province-wide development training camp in London, Ont., at the Forest City Velodrome. I quickly got comfortable and that camp eventually lead to my landing a spot on the podium at the 2015 Pan American Games in the Team Pursuit.

Here in Canada, there are velodromes in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. We are spoiled here in the GTA, with a UCIregulated Class 1 velodrome available to learn the skills required for track riding. However, any velodrome will offer introductory courses and certification days that will allow you to obtain the required skills to train on a track during open and scheduled velodrome sessions.

Learning the basics of track riding is very simple. However, it does take some time to get used to riding a fixed-gear bike, constantly moving your legs and learning the literal ups and downs of the track.

INTRODUCTION

All new riders start by rolling around the infield, or the “coat” of the track. This is a flat section where you can learn to ride a fixed-gear track bike. I describe riding a fixed-gear bike as being similar to driving a standard car. Unlike in an automatic car, where you slam your foot on the accelerator or the brake, a standard car allows you to use the gears to change speed or slow down. On a fixed-gear bike you clip in and accelerate as you push on the pedals. As you approach another rider, obstacle or the place you would like to stop, you use your legs to brake by pushing backwards.

Once you have mastered starting, stopping and riding the entire width of the track, you can finally begin using the track for training. It is important that you feel comfortable not only on the black pursuit line (down low on the track), but also above the blue line in the middle of the track.

ETIQUETTE

When you arrive at a drop-in session, no matter what track you are on, there are rules and etiquette that must be followed. For example, tempo riding is done in the centre of the track on the blue line. This is halfway up the track, so you will be taking the steep banked corners well above the inner flat section of the track. By having pace lines ride in the centre of the track, the fastest part of the track, down at the bottom, is left open for those doing sprints or specific interval training.

SPEED

Speed is your friend on the velodrome. You don’t need to be riding at 40+ km/h to stay up, but you don’t want to be going much less than 25 or 30 km/h, either. To stay stable and comfortable on the sloped track, you need to be pedaling at a decent rate, which will, in turn, keep your wheels on the surface.

LOOK AHEAD

One very important rule to learning the ropes of the track is to always look ahead, whether that be at the wheel in front of you, or even further ahead on the track, so you’ll know what is going on metres ahead of you. I had to really learn this skill for the team pursuit event, a four-kilometre, four-man team

race against the clock in which you’re literally riding millimetres behind the rider in front of you.

DRILLS

Track drills, or just riding in a pace line, is most people’s first introduction to training and getting a workout in while on the track. Once you have the basic skills and understand the rules of the track, athletes are able to more or less take total control of what they get out of a training session.

PLEASANT CHANGE Dreading some of the mindless trainer sessions this winter? Use a drop-in session at a velodrome as a break from your time indoors to work on things like cadence, leg speed, bike handling skills and fitness. You’ll be amazed at how long you can hold speeds over 35 km/h while riding in a group at the track.

HYDRATION AND NUTRITION

Unlike other bikes where you carry nutrition and liquids with you, refueling as you go, at the track, if you need a drink, you will have to get off. Being forced to focus on your training, then getting off the track to refuel and rest, you can get a lot more out of the time you spend on the track.

TIME COMMITMENT

For someone looking to add track riding to their weekly training program, you don’t need a lot of time. With just one or two hours a week on the track, you can eliminate a trainer ride and have the opportunity to learn the many skills associated with the track riding discipline.

FUN

It won’t take long before you fee like a child again training on the track. The speed and interconnectedness you have on a fixed-gear bike with no brakes while you’re flying around the track provides a feeling that is second to none. In the corners, with enough speed, you’ll feel the G forces as you’re riding almost perpendicular to the floor. Not only will you improve your cycling skills, you’ll have fun and get some fantastic training in along the way.

Sean Mackinnon moved from triathlon to cycling at the age of 15. He won two bronze medals at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto in Team Pursuit and the Individual Time Trial.