Mass start

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Mass start at the Vienna City Marathon 2004

In sport, a mass start is the type of start in which all participants line up and start at the same time . The counterpart to this is, for example, the start of the time trial in cycling or the implementation of individual start competitions in cross-country skiing . There the participants are sent out on the track at certain time intervals. Another counterpart is the paired or quartet start in speed skating .

Mass start competitions offer a greater variety of tactical options, as the athletes physically meet each other and are constantly in direct comparison. In fast sports such as cycling or speed skating, there is also a greater variation in air resistance .

The term is only used for sports that have both individual and mass starts, but only when the mass start is not the more common form, such as road cycling. In biathlon it is also used to describe a discipline.