Me and my g/f checked out a morning session @ the ADT center and watched the pursuits, 200m sprints, and team pursuits…it was pretty exciting. The significant other is now inspired to give track racing a shot. She was a sprinter in college (100m 11.9, 200m 24.6,400m 56), and stopped training last year because of a lateral release. Those 10-11sec. efforts for a 200 meter sprint on the bike look comparable to a fast 100m running sprint. I’d like to get her training in the gym and on the bike—she has entry level road bike and a pass to 24 hour fitness.
I know there are training sessions at the velodrome, but that wouldn’t be worth it until she was in some sort of shape for it.
How do these guys/gals train? I can’t locate any good resources.
She probably would do very well after some sport specific training.
First she needs to see if she would really enjoy riding on the track. The element of danger and tactics is somewhat different from anything in track running.
If she only wants to do sprint type stuff ( to start ), I don’t see why she couldn’t just go to the beginner classes at ADT. They don’t get to ride the bike for very long at all so it’s not a matter of fitness, just requires a small investment in money and six evenings or afternoons.
I help teach a similar class at the velodrome in San Jose.
This also saves both of you the time and money of buying a road bike and track bike (almost every single one of those athletes brought both their track and road bikes) and perhaps finding out it’s not her cup of tea.
If you show up to the track you will find almost anyone there willing to help you get started advice wise ( I have only ridden at ADT and Hellyer but every track race consists of standing around and talking to your fellow competitors for long stretches interrupted by moments of intense racing).
If she shows more interest and has promise there are many track specific cycling coaches down in LA - Eddie Monnier, Roger Young, Tim Roach, etc.
To start those will be 13.5 second efforts. Track racing has many more tactics involved than running does. The fast guy doesn’t alwasys win, just ask Theo Bos.
Getting started at the ADT center will sure get you spoiled as that is arguably the finest facility in the Western Hemisphere. Roger Young is a great guy and former world class rider and comes from a family devoted to development.
I’d say immerse her in the culture, there are LOTS of books regarding the history and lessons you can learn without being on a bike.
Truly amazing to watch isn’t it? Did you catch any of the madison?
Find a learn to ride/learn to race clinic - many tracks of clubs will have women’s only clinincs too. Once comfortable on the track and with the bike, we used to ride 10min, rest 2 (easy spin on the cote), repeat, then build that 10min up to 1hr (add 10min each session). Got to the point where you could just ride for an hour straight, which is not easy I might add. The clinics I attended taught a lot about how to manouver well on the track, climbing in the corners, how to line up for a points race and not fall over/scrape your hands bare, etc. I too am more oriented towards sprinting (pretty mean flying 200 but couldn’t do a 3000m TT/oly pusuit on the track to save my life), so the drills and techniques are really important. The fitness is required for meets, where you may be racing several times in 1 day, usually over 2-3 days.
Anyways, I say find a clinic or get a few other buddies and hire a coach for private sessions.
I first witnessed some velodrome racing in Switzerland at the World Du’s and thought it was the coolest thing…that and the vintage cars those crazy Swiss were racing around the track in between races.
I was able to catch the 4th session (Saturday morning), because some one decided to share some tickets for preferred seating. The qualifications for team pursuit were the most exciting, mainly because it involved some group tatic/technique with alternating lead laps and synchronization. The explosiveness in the 200 sprints were pretty wild…I thought those guys were going to rip their handlebars off.
I missed the Madison, and still don’t quite know what it is----I googled it and found a brief explanation. The only thing that comes to mind is when I used to watch roller games when I was a kid…
I did notice that the similarities between time trial/tri bikes and track bikes (minus the fixed gear and pedal arrangements)----did track cycling drive any of the inspiration for design I wonder?
For right now I am looking at a loose training schedule aimed primarily at fitness and strengthening—plus my g/f needs to brush up on some bike handling skills.
To understand the Madison, one must first understand what a points race is. Look at the british cycling federation web page. A Madison is a points race with a two man team, one man is racing, the other man is the relief man. They take turns racing, using the momentum of the racing rider to accelerate the relief rider who was resting.
Wind tunnels, competitive time trials, power meters and airfoil design influenced the shape of all aerodynamic bicycle components.
She can do all of the things you mentioned on the track unless she is still recuperating from her injury. I am uncertain but you sound a little gunshy about actually doing this.
Bike handling skills are so key on the track. That’s part of the reason I suggested getting in a clinic or some sort of coaching. The Madison is insane but awesome. Learning hand slings can be challenging ;-)…
I make it up to the ADT velodrome every week. The workouts are great and are always split up into two groups, one being more beginner oriented. I say go for it. Start her on the beginner six session course. Roger will teach her everything needed on the track. Have fun - E
I know there are training sessions at the velodrome, but that wouldn’t be worth it until she was in some sort of shape for it.
I wouldn’t be so sure. Riding/racing the track will be like no other experience on the bike… it’s pretty unique. Unique enough that many tracks have orientation classes. That would be a good place to start. There is also no substitute for actual track time… regardless of current fitness level.
I was a sprinter in college on the track as well, 400 IM hurdles my primary event. I thought the same thing as your gf, but let me tell you, the only thing similar on the velodrome to running on the track is riding time trials. I’ve found that I have enough speed and stamina to make up for a lot of tactical errors, but racing on the velodrome is absolutely nothing like running on the track. You never have to worry about positioning, wind, and other people in a 100 meter dash. You just run as fast as you can. You have to worry about all that on the velodrome.
For training, she should just replicate some of the workouts she did when she ran. If the idea is to build the explosive capacity of your muscles, and train them for hard efforts over short distances (most track races), doing intervals similar to those from track workouts will do just fine. The points race, though, is more like running a 10k that most sprinters laugh at. A madison is like a 4 x 100 relay the never seems to end.
The velodrome is about 10x more fun than the track, btw. Your gf is fast and will have fun. She will demolish a lot of people right off the bat in quite a few of the races (scratch, keirin, win and out, etc.) with little or no training.
Another reason to start on the track is that it’s better that she learn the correct way to do things instead of having to unlearn anything that she may pick up on her own. A couple of the bigger things we have to watch out for and teach people is to break bad habits they may have learned over the years or things that work on the road and don’t work on the track.