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Timed Intervals Do timed intervals differently depending on how many people are out. With just a few people, riders can take turns getting up on the track, doing a few warm up laps, doing their effort, cooling down, and coming off. This takes too much time when more than five or six riders are out. With more than five or six, get everyone up on the blue line. Whoever is in the lead on the blue gets a countdown, does their effort, and gets onto the back of the group on the blue to cool down. If they get back to the front of the line too soon, they simply change the lead and go to the back. Only integral lap efforts can be chip timed. If people are doing 500’s or do not have a chip, they must be timed with a stopwatch. Only the person doing the effort needs to be told their time. Riders should be advised to go home for the day after their times start to fall off by any significant amount. Flying Laps Proceeding from the infield, riders get up on the track on the front straight and should aim to be up at the yellow by the back straight. Climbing the track out of the saddle is a good idea as it uses different muscle groups differently, leaving the sprinting muscle groups less work to do. The rider then rides easily along the yellow through turns 3 and 4 and along the front straight, gradually picking up speed on the downhill out of turn 4. At this point the rider should be shown 2 to go. At some point between turn 2 and 3 the rider should initiate a full on sprint. The bell should be rung while the rider is on the back straight to alert everyone that a rider is coming down for an interval. The rider should aim to be on the yellow and accelerating through turns 3 and 4 and to be spun out on the finishing straight before dropping down the track to do the timed lap. The next rider up should get up on the track immediately after the previous rider has passed by to finish their lap. Proceeding from the blue line, riders can be assumed to be warmed up already. Tell the first rider in line “next time by” as they come out of turn 4. The rider gets out of the saddle to accelerate gradually to the yellow and climb the hill going into turn 1. At some point between turn 2 and 3 the rider should initiate a full on sprint. The bell should be rung while the rider is on the back straight to alert everyone that a rider is coming down for an interval. The rider should aim to be on the yellow and accelerating through turns 3 and 4 and to be spun out on the finishing straight before dropping down the track to do the timed lap. Upon finishing the lap, riders should attempt to rejoin the back of the group on the blue as soon as possible while getting out of the way of the next rider to do an effort. This may require coming off the track to ride in the roll-around until an opportunity arises to rejoin the group, or riding up to the blue well behind the group and then dropping back down after the next rider has passed by and rejoining the group by following that rider. The next rider in line on the blue should be told next time by the first time the group comes out of turn 4 after the previous rider has completed their lap. Flying 500’s Proceeding from the infield, riders should be given 5-8 laps to warm up on the blue, followed by a countdown. Make sure riders understand that, unlike with a flying lap, timing does not start with 1 to go, but at the end of the countdown. Emphasize this by saying “3 to start,” “2 to start,” “next time by,” when giving the countdown. With flying 500’s the roll up should be steady right to almost the very end of the countdown, with the sprint starting only on the exit from turn 4. Start the stopwatch as the rider crosses the 500m start line and walk across the infield to the 500m finish line. By the time you get there the rider will most likely have passed by. On the rider’s next approach, show them 2 laps to go. Lap cards and a bell with 1 to go are nice, but finger signals suffice. Proceeding from the blue line, riders can be assumed to be warmed up already. Tell the first rider in line next time by as they come out of turn 4. The rider should pick up speed just a bit and take their time getting up to the yellow, reaching it only on the back straight where they aim to be a few bike lengths ahead of the pack and moving faster, with the sprint starting on the exit from turn 4. Start the stopwatch as the rider crosses the 500m start line and walk across the infield to the 500m finish line. By the time you get there the rider will most likely have passed by. On the rider’s next approach, show them 2 laps to go. Lap cards and a bell with 1 to go are nice, but finger signals suffice. Tell the next rider in line that they have two to go to start the first time the pack passes the 500m finish line after the last rider has completed their effort. Longer intervals are done like flying 500’s. |