Track Markings
Important cycling events are usually held on tracks which have lines laid out in a specified arrangement. Some other tracks also follow these protocols, but others have a different arrangement of lines to suit their facility and to assist riders in holding a straight line and in avoiding drifting onto the flatter section below the bankings where they risk their tyres sliding out.
Between the infield (sometimes referred to as an apron) and the actual track is the blue band (called "côte d'azur") which is typically 10% of the surface. The blue band is not technically a part of the track; although it is not illegal to ride there, moving into it to shortcut another rider will result in disqualification. During time trials, pursuits or other timed events, the blue band is obstructed with sponges or other objects. The blue band is a warning to cyclists that they may scrape their pedal along the infield when in a curve, which can easily result in a crash.
20 cm above the blue band is the black line. The inner edge of this 5 cm line defines the length of the track. 90 cm above the inside of the track is the outside of the 5 cm wide red sprinter's line. The zone between black and red lines is the optimum route around the track. A rider leading in this zone cannot be passed on the inside; other riders must pass on the longer outside route.
Minimum 250 cm (or half the track width) above the inside of the track is the blue stayers' line. This line serves in races behind motorbikes as a separation line. Stayers below the blue line may not be overtaken on the inside. In Madison races (named after six-day races at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York and known as the American), the team's relief rider rests above the Stayer’s line by riding slowly until his or her teammate comes around the track and throws him or her back into the race.
The finish line is black on white and near the end of the home straight. Red lines are marked in the middle of each straight as start and finish line for pursuit races. A white 200 m line marks 200 m before the finish.
Read more about this topic: Velodrome
Famous quotes containing the word track:
“The universe constantly and obediently answers to our conceptions; whether we travel fast or slow, the track is laid for us. Let us spend our lives in conceiving then. The poet or the artist never yet had so fair and noble a design but some of his posterity at least could accomplish it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)