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The races listed below are the standard events one may race at Provincials, Nationals, or any UCI sanctioned event.
2 lap individual race on the Calgary Velodrome. Rider is pushed from the apron onto the track and gathers speed at the by the railing for a lap. Rider then accelerates down the banking up to full speed and are timed over a 200m period. Often used as a qualifier for the Match Sprint.
Riders race head-to-head over 3 laps. It’s tactical, often slow at first with explosive final laps.
A group of riders pace around the track for about four laps behind a motorcycle. The order in which riders go behind the motorbike is based on the number they draw. With just over one lap to go on the Calgary Velodrome the pacer pulls off of the track and the riders sprint for the finish.
Individual timed event over 1000m for men and 500m for women.
Three riders with the lead rider peeling off at the end of each lap.
First across the line wins. Simple mass-start race with no intermediate sprints or points.
One of the longer races. Sprints every 5 laps typically on the Calgary Velodrome. Points go to the top 4 riders of each sprint (5-3-2-1 points spread) . Riders can also earn points (20) from lapping the field. Riders dropped by the main group are deducted 20 points if they are lapped.
Also called Miss and Out or Devil, as in devil take the hindmost. The last rider on every lap is removed from the race. Once there are only three riders left they sprint it out for the finish.
A points race with teams of two, one riding with the field, the other recovering. When the two riders meet on the track the rider in the race slings the recovering rider into the race. Points normally every ten laps. No bonus for lapping the field but team placement is a combination of laps completed plus points. A team that has completed the entire distance and has 10 points will finish ahead of a team that is one lap behind with 25 points.
Timed event with two riders on the track at once. Elite men/A 4km , Elite women/masters men A and B/junior men/B 3km , Masters C and D men/Junior and masters women/U17 men and women 2km . If there is both a qualifying and final round, a rider caught in the final is eliminated and the race ends. In qualifying races, a caught rider finishes the distance.
Team based timed event, teams of 4. Riders take turns on the front and 1 rider can pull off before the finish and time is taken from the first 3 riders across the line.
There are several different omnium formats one might see, the most notable being the UCI omnium and Olympic omnium. In general, the omnium is a series of events (may include scratch race, individual pursuit, elimination race, kilo/500m, points race, flying 200m, etc.). Riders are awarded points based on their position in each event, and the rider with the most points at the end of the series wins the omnium.
The races listed below are non-standard race formats which we may run during our Thursday Night Racing Series for fun.
A scratch race with the bell ringer being the only one who knows how long the race is. The bell ringer decides how many laps the race will be before the start but doesn’t tell the riders. After the bell is rung it is 1 lap to go and first across the line wins. Maximum 10 laps.
Is a points race which has the number of points awarded for each sprint increase throughout the race. Win the first sprint and you earn 1 pt. win the last sprint and you get 5 points, points go down to fourth place.
There is a sprint every lap and there is only one point up for grabs each lap. The rider that gathered the most points over the race wins.
A scratch race, except that the highest placed rider in the current six day standings gets a _ lap lead (1/2 lap in C).
A five lap race with the winner of lap one taking first place and getting to retire from the race. Winner of lap two earns second place and pulls out etc.
A five lap race with fifth place going to the lap one winner, fourth to the lap two winner, etc. Pack must keep up with a pacer riding on the apron.
A neck-to-neck one-lap race from a standing start. May, at the discretion of the night’s organizer, be handicapped for obvious differences in ability.
Two lap race, with the first lap to take no less than 3 minutes. If you cross the start/finish line before the official blows the whistle then you are out.
Each rider will have one lap to reach maximum speed, then try to maintain for a second, timed lap. There will be two riders on the track at once – one doing their build up lap on the upper track, one their flying lap on the black line.
Sprints every 3 laps. A rider who has won a sprint stays with the pack but does not contest further sprints until the final. After the sprint with 3 laps to go, all riders except those who have won sprints leave the track. Remaining four riders contest the final sprint.
A Hammerfest favorite. Riders start at equidistant intervals around the track. Any rider who is caught is eliminated. May be terminated early if field down to two placed opposite one another on the track.
All riders are put in teams of 4 or 5. Teams with the most points wins. The organizer selects the teams so that they should be even.
With a mission to improve lives through bicycling, we teach the joys of bicycling, advocate for safe places to ride, and produce world-class rides and events.