Cycling - Track

At the London 2012 Olympic Games, there are 10 gold medals in nine sessions up for grabs over six action-packed days in the Track Cycling competition.

Cycling has a long and fascinating history in the UK. As early as 1870, large crowds were drawn to races held in England on indoor wooden tracks, which closely resembled the velodromes of today.

Competition dates

July 25 - Aug 11

Competition venue

Olympic Park - Velodrome

Number of medal events

Ten: men's and women's Keirin, Sprint, Omnium, Team Pursuit and Team Sprint.

Number of competitors

188 (104 men and 84 women). Each country is limited to nine men and seven women, equating to one athlete/team in each event.

Field of play

The track at the Velodrome is a 250m oval, banked from 12 degrees at its shallowest point to 42 degrees at its steepest, so the riders are always perpendicular to the track, even as they go round corners.

Track Cycling at the Olympic Games

Currently enjoying a boom in popularity, the action-packed sport of Track Cycling has featured at every Games but one since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Women's Track Cycling joined the Olympic programme in 1988.

The basics

There are 10 Olympic Track Cycling events (five for men, five for women), which between them test speed, endurance and teamwork. The Sprint consists of a series of three-lap races, with riders racing head-to-head. The Keirin features up to seven riders sprinting for victory, after following a pacing motorcycle at the beginning of the race.

There are two team events: the Team Sprint, with teams of three for the men's competition and teams of two for the women, and the Team Pursuit, which is held over 16 laps for men and 12 laps for women. Finally, there's the Omnium. Making its Olympic debut at London 2012, the Omnium features individual riders competing against each other across six different elements on the track.

Officials

There are a host of officials (or commissaires) for Olympic Track Cycling, including start and finish judges, referees, timekeepers and scorers.

Jargon buster

Derny - the pacing motorcycle used in Keirin races

Gear ratio - the number of cogs on the front chainring divided by the number of cogs on the rear sprocket