Track Time Trial

In the track time trial, a track cycling event, cyclists compete individually against the clock to record the fastest time over the specified distance from a standing start.

The Kilo

At championships and Olympics events, the distance for senior men is usually 1000m, hence the event's alternative name: the 'Kilo', short for kilometre. As such, the event is popular with riders who specialise in the sprint. Women compete over 500m. These sprint time trials are under consideration for elimination for the 2008 Olympics though, to make way for two BMX cycling events.

Riders who have performed best on previous occasions are seeded and ride last, gaining the potential advantage of knowing what their opponents have done.

The Hour

The Blue Riband track cycling feat is to break the hour record. Instead of racing against the clock over a set distance, the rider will set out to cover as much distance as possible in exactly 60 minutes.

The world record has been held by many of the greatest names in cycling - most of them road racing specialists with the necessary combination of speed and, above all, endurance - for example: Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Francesco Moser, Miguel Induráin and Chris Boardman.

Olympic Sprint

The Olympic sprint is a three-man team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. Like the (much longer) team pursuit event, 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 next lap; at the end of the second lap, the second rider does the same, leaving the third rider to complete the last lap on their own.