Sprint (track cycling)
The sprint (original historical name Malfahren , later aviator race ) is a track race that is contested by two to four drivers over three (for tracks less than 333.33 meters in length) or two (for larger tracks) track laps.
A sprint competition at championships and comparable events is held in tournament mode. The sprint is the oldest championship discipline in cycling that is still held today.
Race course
The winner of a sprint run is whoever crosses the finish line first , whereby the time is irrelevant as long as other rules are observed (see section "Standing attempt").
The starting grid will be drawn. The driver drawn as the leader must take the lead at the start and drive the first half lap at at least walking pace. During the second run the line-up is reversed. As a rule, the opponents drive extremely slowly during the first two laps and watch each other, sometimes standing attempts are made (see section “Standing attempt”).
After a phase of gradual acceleration to around 50 km / h with sham steps and other tactical maneuvers, the start and top speed (70 to 75 km / h) are decisive. The driver who is behind before the start has an advantage because he can get out of the slipstream at a higher speed than his opponent and overtake him. The optimal distance for such actions (depending on the racing situation about two meters to, especially in the first laps, ten meters behind the opponent and laterally about one to two meters to the right - i.e. upwards - offset) is called the "sprinter hole" or " Sprinter distance ".
The last 200 meters of a race are stopped, the world's best times are around 10 seconds. The world record , which can also be achieved in a time trial qualification (see tournament mode ) or a special record attempt, is held by François Pervis with 9.347 s , which corresponds to an average speed of 77.030 km / h. Pervis set the record during the Track Cycling World Cup on December 6, 2013 in Aguascalientes (Mexico).
Standing attempt
A noticeable characteristic of the sprint discipline is the so-called standing attempt . Here, the driver or a driver comes to a complete standstill without having to support himself with his feet on the ground. The rules relating to the standing attempt have been tightened over time, so that today it is no longer allowed to drive backwards by more than 20 centimeters and the duration is limited to a maximum of two times 30 seconds. The standing attempt serves various tactical purposes: on the one hand, to get into the rear position, which is more favorable for various reasons (slipstream of the opponent, better manageability, more positional energy by driving on a higher level of the track), on the other hand, to put the opponent under tactical pressure.
Tournament mode
A sprint tournament begins with a 200 m time trial qualification, in which, after the preparatory laps, only the time of the last 200 meters is measured (so-called "flying start"), which is rung in with a bell. The pairings for the first round result from the placement in the qualification (first against the last who still qualified, second against the penultimate, etc.). The pairings for the next rounds are based on a fixed scheme specified by the competition regulations; Even after a defeat, racing drivers can still qualify for remaining in the tournament via hope runs .
The main form of the competition is the two-man run, in competitions that do not count towards national or international championships, in the hope runs and in the run for fifth to eighth place, up to four drivers can race against each other.
At least from the semi-finals, at world championships from the quarter-finals, there will be two runs each time, and if there is a tie after these two runs, a decision run to determine the winner will be held (the so-called "best-of-three" mode ). A possibly necessary third and decisive run is called "Belle".
Details of the race division differ according to whether it is a world championship, Olympic Games, other championship, world cup or smaller race.
See also
Web links
- Sprint run at the UCI Track World Championships 2008 between Kévin Sireau and Chris Hoy on youtube.com
Individual evidence
- ^ Hans-Christian Smolik / Stefan Etzel: Das große Fahrradlexikon , Bielefeld 1997, p. 539
- ↑ UCI regulations 3.5.005 "World Records"
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Competition regulations for track cycling of the Federation of German Cyclists ( Memento of the original from February 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 567 kB)
- ↑ UCI regulations for track cycling (English / French) there: 3.2.029 "§ 3 Sprint"
