An Unsettling and Disturbing Guide to Road, Criterium and Track Racing in Australia...

So what do those lines mean?

Good question. I'm not a UCI-accredited commissaire so this is simply my opinion based on experience and may not necessarily be correct interpretations of the exact rules in question - particularly so at your local velodrome. Please check with a local commissaire.

Having said that, let's get on with it!

Obviously we have black and white start/finish lines. We also have markings (usually red lines, perpendicular to the track) for the common pursuit and time trial distances. Distances are also marked out on the side of the track. The flat, often blue-painted zone right at the bottom of the track is the duckboard. It can be absent, or it can be plain concrete (ie not blue at all). Some people refer to it as "the blue" or the "Cote d'Azure", but it's really not a place to take a holiday. It's not for race riding either, although you may use it to come off the track after a slow down lap and you cross it to get on the track. In time trials and pursuits long sponges (not your conniving relatives, I mean foam rubber sponges) are placed across the duckboard to discourage short cuts. You can often get away with a short cut in a scratch race though when diving underneath a slower rider (but it's not encouraged and if attempted during a sprint will almost certainly incur a disqualification). There can be a nasty edge rather than a smooth transition from duckboard to track, too so keep away - it can get a bit hairy if you get stuck in that transition zone, especially if you are on the duckboard at speed and try to get onto the banking before a turn. It's a good way to fall and bring down the pack.

There's also a black line just after the blue zone. This is the shortest way around and is thus the line to take if you are time trialling. It's sometimes called the pole line. Above the black line is a

, also called the sprinter's line. The gap between the black line and the red line is about one meter, which is what a bulky sprinter needs at speed, elbows splayed, to safely go for it. In a sprint, once the 200m mark is passed the lead rider must hold their line - it could be a straight or diagonal line but certainly not weaving up and down. This is a safety measure to stop riders moving suddenly and wildly up the track to block other competitors - not that you'd do something like that. But wait - there's more to it. Once past the 200m mark, the first rider under the red line in a sprint must stay there. The first advantage for you is that it's usually a shorter distance, so you tend to take that position anyway - unless you have delayed the sprint and have your competitor pinned up against the fence, of course; and secondly whilst you have claimed the sprinter's line (or pole zone) no competitor is allowed to come under you - they must go above you on the track to get past. Which means they must go further than you - that has to be a good thing! Of course if you don't enter the pole zone and choose to remain above the red line past the 200m point you are free to ride a straight line of your choice - which is where you may choose to keep your opponent pinned against the fence, helpless to get passed, for example. You don't see that very often, but there you go - it's possible.

The other point to make is that the pole lane is for fast efforts; if you are dawdling then go up or off the track.

OK, so you have seen a

• On a banked track go faster, not slower, when learning
• Get a track bike that fits you. One size smaller than your road bike is usually OK.
• Get lots of road miles in your legs as a base (I mean 150-200/km a week, as a minimum, for 2-3 months - any less and you'll find the going very much harder)
• Start general, try everything, to see where your strengths lie and then specialise
• Start with smaller gears (84-88 inches) and work up to bigger ones (90-100 inches)
• And remember: NEVER stop pedalling - this is NOT the time to freewheel!

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