NewportVelo Youth Club
The
Club caters for children from 8 to 16 years of age, with coaching and
training sessions each week utilising the clubs “British Cycling” qualified
coaches.
Track
cycling is one of the most exciting and maddest sports in the world.
Riders fly round a custom-built, steeply-banked track at incredible
speeds!
It's a great sport to take part in or simply to watch the fast and
furious action.
The strangely-named events can be baffling to newcomers or even the
most experienced spectator. See the summary below
Track
Cycling Bikes and Equipment
Bike Hire is available at the velodrome for a small cost, here is some
basic info;
Track bikes are minimalist. There are no brakes, no gears and no
freewheel; if the back wheel is turning, so are the pedals. Speed is
controlled by pedalling and by pushing back on the moving pedals.
Track
bikes are like any bike now, made of simple steel tubes, alloys or
carbon fibre.
Disc wheels are often used for aerodynamic reasons even though they
are heavier, weaker and far more expensive than wire spoke wheel.
Three and four spoke wheels have most of the aerodynamic advantages of
discs without the problem of instability in a side wind and are
therefore commonly used up front. (there is no wind in Newport
Velodrome but not all tracks are indoors).
Riders are firmly attached to the bikes using step-in pedal systems or
standard pedals with two sets of straps.
Hard helmets are always worn, some helmets are shaped to improve
airflow over the back of the head.
Gloves are essential protection against a palm full of splinters if
you crash.
What is an Omnium..... the format varies for youth cycling, but a sample of an event might be..
| Omnium | under 12 | under 14 | under 16 |
| Flying Sprint | 200m flying | 200m flying | 200m flying |
| Keirin derny paced | ??km | ??km | |
| Time trial | 1km (4 lap) | 1km (4 lap) | |
| Dash | 200m plus | ||
| Scratch | 2km | 3km | 3km |
| Devil | ??km | ??km | |
| Points race | 8km | 8km | |
| Sprint every 2km - 5,3,2,1 Points | |||
| Seeded Sprint Finals | 200m | ??km | ??km |
How old are you? The question should be, how old were you on December 31st? If you are 12 now, but were still 11 on December 31st you can enter as an under 12; as with 13 on the 31st December you are under 14 this year; 15 on the 31st December you are an under 16.
How
can I race, do I just pay my entry fee? You do need a race licence so
this can come through your club speak to your coach, 
or
you can buy one on the day, it includes insurance.
THE
FUN BIT RACING
.:. Individual Sprint
.:. Track time trial
.:. Individual pursuit
.:. Team pursuit
.:. Olympic sprint
.:. Scratch Race
.:. Motor paced Derny
.:. Points race
.:. Madison
.:. Unknown distance
.:. Devil
.:. Keirin
Individual sprint Like a crazy game of cat-and-mouse on bikes! In the last lap one rider will normally burst away from his opponent to set up a dramatic sprint finish.
Track time trial (kilo) This an individual race against the clock from a standing start. Britain had gold medallists for the men's kilo time trial for the last two Olympics Jason Queally in 2000 and Chris Hoy in 2004.
Individual pursuit In this event two riders start from opposite sides of the track, the race is to catch your opponent or the quickest time. Bradley Wiggins won Olympic gold for Great Britain in Athens.
Team pursuit Two four-man teams start on opposite sides of the track and race over 4000m. The object of the race is to attempt to catch your opponents or complete the ride in the fastest time. Each rider takes it in turn to lead for half a lap, although stronger riders sometimes do full laps. The finishing times are taken as the third rider crosses the line so a team can afford to lose one rider during the race.
Olympic
team sprint This is a thrilling three-man time trial held over three
laps of the velodrome. Two teams race against each other, starting on
opposite sides of the track. At the end of the first lap the leading
rider in each team pulls up the banking leaving the second rider to
lead for the second lap he in turn pulls up the banking at the end of
the lap 
leaving the third rider who has the strongest finish on his
own to sprint for the line.
Scratch Race Straight forward as far as the rules go, the riders race over a distance "in the Omnium it is 2km or 3km", the first one across the line wins.
Motor-paced/Derny Race These are run as scratch races, but each rider is ‘paced’ by a motor-bike
Points race They race for 100/160 laps, with a sprint finish every 10, the first four riders across the line take 5,3,2,1 points respectively with double points awarded on the last lap. You can also win if you alone gain a lap on the rest of the field, if a second rider also gains a lap the points decide the result. Tactics and stamina are important.
Madison
Similar to the Points Race except that teams of two riders compete
over a 200 laps of the track in a touch tag relay race! This is the
most mad of all races, it has to be seen to be believed, only one
rider of each team races whilst the other takes a breather at the top
of the track, they hand throw each other into the race shooting the
team mate forward. How they manage to
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count the laps is medal sport of
it’s own.
Devil This is one of the most fun events of all the races. The last rider across the finish line every lap (or longer in the case of small tracks) is called out by the judges. The race continues until 2-4 riders remain, & then they sprint for the win.
Unknown distance A race in which only the officials know the distance, to indicate 2 laps to go they will blow a whistle and to indicate the last lap a bell is rung which is usual in all races.
Keirin Very bizarre event which originated in Japan; the 6/8 riders follow a small moped-type bike called a derny! Which paces them for the first few laps of the 8 lap race, it goes faster and fast whilst the riders behind jostle for best position, but always behind the first bike behind the derny which pulls off 2 ˝ laps to go leaving a sprint for the line.
TRACKS IN YOUTH OMNIUM SERIES
