Junior Track Cycling

We’re about one month away from junior districts, properly known as the California-Nevada/North Junior State Track Championships. The event will be held on June 17, with registration starting at 9 AM.

This is a minor event to the rest of the world (okay, even the rest of the country), but for us it’s a big deal. There are few juniors-only track races here, making this a rare chance for the best juniors (especially in the younger age groups) to really shine. Because turnout is small, even juniors who aren’t the fastest are welcome. They can learn how a championship event works, get some race experience, and enjoy the between-race socializing in the infield.

Here are a few thoughts for the local juniors:

• Read the race flyer. There are more details than for non-championship events.
• Preregister! It’s cheaper, and if you need a loaner bike you’ll be put ahead of riders who register on race day.
• Practice. If you are already out whipping the adults on Wednesday or Thursday nights, you can skip this one :). We welcome riders who mainly ride the road, but this isn’t a good time for your first track ride. Fortunately there are several options (and all are free):
1. Sunday May 21 and Sunday June 4. For younger (age 10 to 15) juniors these regularly scheduled sessions are the simplest way to get some time on the track.
2. Saturday Mornings. If you are big/old enough to ride with novice adults, this is the way to go. These happen every week.
3. Special arrangement. The track is not open without a scheduled session, but we are quite flexible. If you have several riders and there is an opening in the track calendar, we can probably run a session for you between now and districts. Weekends are pretty crowded, but not impossible. Weekdays are better, if you have days off from school between now and districts. Leave a comment or email username “districts” at this web site’s domain.
• Be eligible. See the flyer for details, but in short you must be a resident of northern California or northern Nevada (by USCF definition) and hold an annual license. For the 17-18 mass start and sprint races, you must be at least a Category 3 track rider. All riders need a velodrome release form, so be sure you have one (from 2006) on file, or bring a parent or guardian to sign. You can also print and complete one and bring it along.
• Come prepared. Besides your basic race gear, be prepared for a long session. Think ahead about water, food, shade, and sunscreen. A chair or blanket for rest and a wind trainer or rollers for warmup are valuable. A book, game, or a source of music wouldn’t hurt.

Thanks to Barry Langley of Australia and Omnisport International I am able to present a collection of photos documenting the construction of the Joe Ciavola Velodrome at the Darebin International Sports Center (DISC) in Victoria. I hope some of you will be interested in seeing how a wooden velodrome is constructed. The Americans out there may be interested to note that this velodrome is designed by the same architects as the one in Carson, CA.

This slide show has 169 images, so be prepared to spend some time. If you have a fast connection or lots of time, try the “Higher Resolution” link.

Guy Swarbrick has posted pictures of the first two rounds of the British Cycling Youth Track Omnium (Southern) series.

I also found some photos and results on the British Cycling site. Looks like I have some new 200m times to add to the database soon.

Wednesday night provided plenty of junior action, including the first Keirins of the season. Elissa Stolman gained some good experience in the C race, though she didn’t have the power (at 14) to compete with (among others) a group of male college road racers who were in “C” only due to lack of track experience. Ben Barsi-Rhyne was less dominant in “B” than last week, thanks to a couple of errors and perhaps a stronger field. Blake Anton was one of those who made it a stronger field, in one case single-handedly chasing down Ben’s long solo breakaway. Joel Shaffer was new to “B”, getting used to the faster field and showing that (at 14) he is ready to ride there. In “A”, Jim Ryan had a mixed night, with an exciting but doomed two-man breakaway in one race, not enough gear in the Keirin, and his best performance in the miss-and-out, where he made it down to the last 5 before a number mixup caused him to be pulled out early.

Elissa and some of the UCSC (University of California Santa Cruz) riders

Alden Tanaka and Jim had a long breakaway. You older juniors heading to college in the western USA may run into Alden in his capacity as WCCC director.

The B pack, including Joel Shaffer (number 48, leading), Blake Anton (top, blue helmet), and Ben Barsi-Rhyne (center, white helmet, yellow and red kit)

Peter Bohl drives the motor while Jim keeps an eye on the riders behind him.

Ben tries a breakaway.

The schedule has now been posted for junior track nationals. Thanks, Ted.

More or less the usual Wednesday-to-Saturday plan, with paralympic and blind events integrated into the schedule on Friday and Saturday. Tandem races on the track have become less common, so the blind events are a good chance to see that spectacle.

Don’t forget this year’s rule changes, including new gear limits and 3 instead of 4 races in some of the omniums.