What are the omnium, keirin and Madison at the Olympics? Track cycling events at Paris 2024 explained
Know your Keirin from your Madison? Confused about how the Omnium actually works? Here’s a handy jargon buster and guide
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One of the Olympics’ best-loved and most prominent sports, track cycling has featured at every modern Olympic Games other than Stockhom 1912, with women’s events on the track added in 1988.
Great Britain took three golds at the velodrome at Tokyo 2020 as team captains Jason and Laura Kenny cemented their legacies as Team GB greats, but the pair have since concluded their careers, with injury to Katie Archibald another blow to British medal hopes.
But Emma Finucane, Jack Carlin and co. could still bring home a significant medal haul as they vie with the nations including the Netherlands, Germany and Italy for success at the velodrome.
Know your keirin from your Madison? Confused about how the omnium actually works? Here’s a handy jargon buster and guide to help you through some of the more unique elements of track cycling:
What is a velodrome?
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling consisting of two straights and two 180-degree circular bends. First constructed during the 19th century, sizes used to vary, but since 1990 most major events in the sport are held on 250 metre tracks.
All of the track cycling will be held at the Velodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines just west of Paris, a venue that has twice hosted the World Championships.
What is the omnium?
The omnium was streamlined ahead of the last Olympics, and will again be held over one day and four events in Paris – down from the two-day, six event competition in Rio de Janeiro.
The four separate bunch events are: the scratch race, the tempo race, the elimination race and the points race.
Riders accumulate points in the first three events based on a points scale, which are then carried in to the points race. During the course of this race riders may lose or gain points from their total, and the winner is the rider with the most points at the end of the fourth event, which is 25km for men and 20km for women.
The scratch race is a traditional first across the line race held over 10km for men and 7.5km for women, while the tempo race covers the same distance, but awards a point to the first rider crossing the line on each lap (20 points can also be earned by lapping the field).
The elimination race is a bunch race in which the last rider to cross the line every two laps is eliminated.
Great Britain’s Matthew Walls took men’s victory in Tokyo ahead of Campbell Stewart (New Zealand) and Italy’s Elia Viviani, and Team GB have a major gold medal hope again in the form of Ethan Hayter, who dropped out of the men’s road race to prioritise his effort on the track. Viviani and France’s Benjamin Thomas should also contend.
The United States’ Jennifer Valente is the favourite to defend her women’s title.
What is the keirin?
An event of great tradition and particular significance in Japan, the keirin has a peculiar look.
In Paris, six riders will begin the race behind a motorized device to progressively reach a specific speed of 50 kilometres per hour, before exiting the track with three laps to go.
The cyclists will sprint in a succession of knockout rounds held over two days at the velodrome. Riders knocked out in the first round of heats do get a second opportunity via a repechage system.
The repechages see riders effectively get a second chance at qualification with the top two in each heat making it through to join those already qualified.
Great Britain’s Emma Finucane is the favourite for victory as the Welshwoman seeks to burnish her reputation as a rising star of cycling. The incredibly powerful Harrie Lavreysen of the Netherlands will be tough to stop in the men’s event.
What is the Madison?
Having returned to the Olympics in Tokyo after not being held at either London 2012 or Rio 2016, the quirky Madison is a team event for two riders. It is a relay race held over 50km for men and 30km for women, with a succession of intermediate sprints every 10 laps.
The two team members alternate between racing and resting, with the rider not racing remaining on the track before being thrown back into the action via a hand sling from their team mate.
Points are awarded at each intermediate sprint, while any team that gains a lap on the main bunch earns an extra 20 points; any team lapped has 20 points deducted.
The final sprint after the full distance is covered is worth double points – starting from a maximum of 10.
A female competition was held in the Madison for the first time at Tokyo 2020, with Laura Kenny adding the event to her schedule and taking victory alongside Katie Archibald. British pair Neah Evans and Elinor Barker are the reigning world champions, though Belgium boast a returning Lotte Kopecky, who is in the midst of an outstanding year on the road.
Fresh from guiding Mark Cavendish to a history-making stage win at the Tour de France, Denmark’s Michael Morkov will switch back to the track as he looks to cap a spectacular career by defending his Olympic title. He will have a new partner in either Rasmus Lund Pedersen or Niklas Larsen, with Jan Willem van Schip and Yoeri Havik of the Netherlands looking to add Olympic success to their world title.
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