Grass Track Racing - ‘Strictly Cycling’ - More People on Bikes More Often

Anyone can take part in the ‘Strictly Cycling’ Grass Track Training Sessions and Competitions. There are races for everyone, young or not so young, experienced track riders or novice track riders, those who have track bikes and those who have not.

The Community and Club Training Sessions take place every Thursday at Kneller Gardens and you can just turn up and have a go, there is no charge and you do not have to book. You will need to have either a mountain type bike, a racing style bike with knobbly tyres or a track bike with knobbly tyres. If you do not have a bike or are not sure if your bike is suitable then come along anyway as we will have some spare bikes on hand and can advise you about your own bike as well.

The ‘Strictly Cycling’ Track Competitions will have 3 different categories of competition:

Fixed Wheel Omnium – For established track riders. Fixed wheel bicycles are track bicycles with a fixed wheel, no brakes and knobbly tyres suitable for racing on grass.
Go-Ride Racing Omnium – For new U16s (will also include an interschool competition).
Free Wheel Omnium – For novice riders and those with no track bike.

The Go-Ride Racing and Free Wheel events can be done on any bike with knobbly tyres suitable for riding on grass.

Each Omnium comprises 4 events for each rider per competition in each category and may vary at each competition. The races will be chosen from the following list and will always have at least 1 endurance race and 1 sprint race. Races chosen will be clearly indicated at the beginning of the competition.

Sprint Races	Endurance Races
Match Sprint	1km Scratch or Time Trial
1 Lap Dash	2km – 8km Scratch or Time Trial
Kierin	Handicap
Team Sprint	Team Pursuit
	Elimination Race (Devil)

Events

Date	Event	Venue	Time
Thurs 28th April Thurs 5th May Thurs 12th May Thurs 9th June Thurs 23rd June	Community & Club Training Session	Kneller Gardens Meadway Twickenham Middlesex TW2 6PQ Parking is on the road outside the park.	6.30pm – 8.30pm
Thurs 19th May	Grass Track Competition South League Round 1	Waldegrave School Fifth Cross Road Twickenham Middlesex TW2 5LH Parking available in the school grounds and on roads outside school	7pm
Thurs 2nd June	Grass Track Competition South League Round 2		7pm
Thurs 16th June	Grass Track Competition South League Round 3		7pm
Sun 19th June	Grass Track Competition Central Regional Championships	Old Deer Park Richmond TW9 2SF Parking in public car park opposite.	1.30pm

WHAT IS GRASS TRACK RACING?

Grass track is similar to the hard track racing in a velodrome that you've seen at the Olympics - but on grass! Events can be organised on any flat or reasonably flat field. The track itself is normally marked out over 400 meters enabling times to be compared over a series of events, or sometimes more simply by laying out a rough oval of markers with a start/finish line.
Races are short enabling riders to experience a number of different races at any single competition. There are a large number of event possibilities in Grass Track racing and typically several will be linked together to form an Omnium. Points are awarded to riders for each individual race and then added up to form the Omnium (overall) score. The races described below are often included in Grass Track Omnium events:

Scratch Race: All riders start together and race for a set number of laps (usually 5 laps). The first rider across the line is the winner. Individual One Lap Time Trial: Individual riders are timed to complete one lap of the track.
‘Devil' Takes the Hindmost: A bunch race in which the last rider to cross the finish line on each lap is eliminated from the race, when there are only 3 riders remaining the race becomes a flat out sprint over the last lap to declare the winner.
Points Race: A bunch race in which riders sprint for points on nominated laps. Usually the first 4 riders get points, 5 for first, 3 for second, 2 for third and 1 for fourth.
Team Pursuit: The Team Pursuit involves 2 teams of 4 riders starting on opposite sides of the track and chasing the opposing team for a specified number of laps. The lead rider in each team changes from the front to the back of the line every lap or half lap. The team that achieves the fastest time or catches their opponents is awarded the win.
Keirin: A sprint event in which riders are paced behind a coach or experienced rider (the Derny Rider) for about two laps. The Derny Rider then pulls off and the riders sprint for the last lap or two laps.