Standing attempt

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Standing attempt between the Dutchman Yondi Schmidt (left) and the Frenchman Grégory Baugé

The standing attempt (English: standstill ; French: surplace ) is a term from track cycling that describes a tactical maneuver in a sprint .

The track sprint is usually driven by two drivers over two to three laps (depending on the track length approx. 750 to 1000 meters). It would be - from the possibility of tactical maneuvers such as Apart from the surprise attack, it is unwise to start the race at high speed from the start, because the opponent would simply hang in the slipstream and in the end overtake the leader out of the slipstream . Therefore, the drivers usually only drive slowly at the beginning and observe each other, with each driver trying to get into the more favorable position for the final sprint. This is usually the rear one: you have your opponent in view, you can intercept attacks better, and in the finish sprint the rear rider can take advantage of the slipstream of the front one (“sprinter hole”).

There are various tactical options that the leading driver can use to try to impose the leading position on his opponent (the starting order is drawn by lots). One of them is the attempt to stand: The driver remains standing, which forces the opponent to either stand still or drive past and thus take the lead. The driver is not allowed to hold onto anything and is not allowed to touch the ground with his feet, so he has to balance on the stationary bike. This must not move backwards more than 20 centimeters. Standing attempts are only allowed from the second round.

The technique of the standing attempt consists in placing the wheel "downhill" towards the track, but turning the front wheel to the right "uphill". Lightly pedaling forwards and backwards on the almost horizontally positioned cranks produces small forwards and backwards movements of the bike. Both of these movements encounter gravity resistance and at the same time cause the balancing sideways movements due to the strongly turned front wheel. However, in a competition it is not always possible to find the ideal starting position for a standing attempt and to carry it out without being forced. Therefore, this maneuver requires a lot of strength and skill in competition practice.

In recent years, the number and length of standing attempts at official competitions have been increasingly limited. Today only two attempts, each lasting a maximum of 30 seconds, are allowed per run. If the time limit is reached without changing positions, the drivers receive a signal (usually a whistle) that prompts them to continue driving. Due to this time limit, standing attempts have lost much of their importance.

In six-day races, on the other hand, longer attempts to stand, even for minutes, are among the spectacular sprint tournaments that are popular with spectators.

The race with the most attempts to stand was that between Gabriel Poulain and Henry Mayer in 1906: After six attempts to stand of 20 to 45 minutes each in a decision run, the referees finally decided on a draw. The longest attempt to stand at a recent World Track Championships took place during the Track Cycling World Championships in 1955 in a run between the Dutchman Jan Derksen and the Italian Antonio Maspes on the Vigorelli track in Milan . It lasted 32 minutes and 20 seconds and was finally canceled by the commissioners. The attempt to stand by Sergio Bianchetto and Giovanni Pettenella in the semifinals of the sprint of the Italian Championships in 1965 on the Velodromo Ganna in Varese was also legendary . It only ended after 63 minutes, when Bianchetto, shaken by convulsions in the great heat and completely exhausted, suffered a circulatory collapse and fell off the bike. Pettenella, on the other hand, stayed on his bike until the jury announced Bianchetto's task. The standing attempt was broadcast live by RAI on the radio.

Individual evidence

  1. Teun Mulder demonstrates a standing attempt on YouTube
  2. ^ A b Hans-Christian Smolik / Stefan Etzel: Das große Fahrradlexikon, Bielefeld 1997, p. 539f.
  3. UCI regulations for track cycling (English / French) there: 3.2.039
  4. Pettenella e Bianchetto: quei 63 'da record sulla pista di Masnago on varesenews.it ( Memento from February 10, 2018 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 16, 2017 (ital.)

literature

  • Werner Scharch : Fascination of track cycling , Tenningen 1977, p. 35ff.

Web links

Wiktionary: standing attempt  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations