How fast do they ride in track cycling? Records in Keirin, Madison, Omnimum, Team Sprint and Pursuit

The cycling track events began on Monday at Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, with records being broken right from the off.

There are various events within the discipline of cycling, and their unique names can make things quite confusing. Here’s an explainer of what’s going on, as well as who is to beat to get an Olympic record.

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Keirin

In the keirin race, 30 riders compete for six laps in which their pace is set by a motorised bike for the first three. After that, for the final three laps, they go hell for leather and sprint to the finish.

The bike that regulates the pace starts at 30 km/h (19 mph), and increases to 50 km/h (31 mph) for the final stages. It then leaves the track 750 m (820 yd) before the end of the race (3 laps on a 250 m (270 yd) track), which is where the cyclists put their foot down. Crossing the finish line, the winner’s speed even exceed 70 km/h (43 mph).

Madison

The adison race has returned in 2020 after being dropped for London 2012 and Rio 2016, with the women’s event being held for the first time in the same year. It is a quirky relay race held over 50km for men and 30km for women, with intermediate sprints every 10 laps.

During the race, team members alternate between racing and resting, with the rider who is not racing staying on the track before being literally thrown back into the action via a hand sling. Points are awarded along the way and can be deducted for being lapped.

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Omnimum

This is where things get complicated. In the omnimum, teams gain points across four different races: the scratch race, tempo race, elimination race and the points race. Here’s how things work:

In the scratch, tempo, and elimination races, riders earn points based on their finishing positions: 40 points for first place, 38 for second, 36 for third, and so on. Men must complete 40 laps, while women are required to complete 30 laps. However, in the points race, the lap requirements increase to 100 laps for men and 80 laps for women.

The points race has a different point distribution system, awarding five points for first place, three for second, two for third, and one for fourth. The final sprint offers double points. Additionally, any rider who laps the field earns 20 points, while being lapped incurs a 20-point penalty.

Team sprint

A total of eight teams in the men’s and women’s events nominate three riders each for the team sprint: here, only the third and final lap counts once they’re at maximum speed, usually around 70kp/h.

A time trial is used for qualifying before teams are drawn into head-to-head races for round 1, with the two fastest winners making it through to the gold medal final; the two slowest winners go up for the bronze medal.

The women’s team sprint record was set by Great Britain on August 5 2024, after Katy Marchant, Sophie Capewell and Emma Finucane put in a 45.186, giving Team GB their first ever medal in the event. The trio set three world records on the day, once each in qualifying, heat and the final. The men’s record is held by the Netherlands, with Roy van den Berg, Harrie Lavreysen and Jeffrey Hoogland putting in a time of 41.279 on the same day as Team GB did for the women’s race.

Team pursuit

Despite times being around four minutes for women and below that for men for the 4,000-metre race, the team pursuit is known as an event of endurance. The Team Pursuit was first made an Olympic event for men in 1908 with the women added to the programme in 2012.

Four riders race together across 16 laps, with each rider taking their turn at the front. Both teams start on opposite ends of the track and the finish time is taken when the third rider’s front wheel crosses the finish line.

The best Olympic time in the men’s race was set by Italy in Tokyo, 2020, with 3:42.032; the women’s team from Germany set a record of 4:04.242 at the same Games.