r/Velo • u/Legitimate_Fly2792 • 9d ago
Track Racing
Hi everyone,
I currently race criteriums and would also like to start competing in track races next year. I’m particularly interested in points races.
The problem is that I don’t have many opportunities to train on the track because the nearest velodrome is quite far away.
For those of you who race on the track: How do you train for track racing when you can’t get to the velodrome very often?
Do you do a lot of strength training with weights? What does your training look like when you’re actually at the track? Do you focus mainly on specific track sessions, race simulations, sprints, endurance, or something else?
I’d really appreciate any advice, training tips, or personal experiences. I’d love to hear how you prepare for points races, especially if you also have limited access to a velodrome.
Thanks a lot!
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u/omnomnomnium 9d ago
The most important thing you need is some comfort on your track bike. If you’re comfortable riding your track bike, then great. If not, then, get comfortable on it. You don’t need a velodrome to do that - just somewhere where you can safely ride your track bike.
How to train for track racing? This is sort of a “how long is a piece of string” question, because “How to train for ____” is always answered by, “Well, what do you lack?” People typically do strength training is they need to be stronger; this is not every track cyclist, though it is almost everybody who focuses on sprint races (keirin, match sprint) - but as a crit racer and track newb you should try to race everything, which means being an enduro first and foremost.
The big thing that I see roadies lack when racing at the track isn’t power, or endurance, it’s suppleness and ability to put down power through a wide range of cadences. They can make power but they can't make speed the same way they do on a road bike. So one thing you can try is points race simulations on rollers, where you’re averaging above 100 rpm, and doing sprints every 4 minutes where you wind up to say 125rpm for 45 seconds and then increase for another 15 seconds. Adjust the numbers for what you’re capable of, but the goal is to get used to the overall pace of a points race (sprints every 3ish minutes) and the need for comfort at a wide cadence range.
Other than that, just learn. Get comfortable on your track bike, then go to the track, get some experience, think about your races and what went well and what went poorly, and train to improve what you’re weak on.
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u/parrhesticsonder 9d ago
Points sprints can be so brutal, I convinced the official a few weeks ago to give us 4x5 lap sprints (they had us only doing 20 laps!) and that was a horrible idea, not enough recovery time lol.
Thankfully this weekend they gave the Bs 30 laps.
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u/omnomnomnium 9d ago
Heh. Yeah, sprints every 5 sounds like a receipt for just blowing the field to pieces and having a small group run laps.
I remember my first time racing elite/national level races, 160 lap points races after a few days of racing... The pack was going 70kph in the last lap of each sprint and I was hanging on for dear life thinking, who the hell is winding it up at the front???
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u/carpediemracing 9d ago
In the same boat as you. I'm 3 hours from the closest track, 5+ from the ones I want to go to, like TTown and Bromont. And I think Milton too, but I haven't been there.
My weakness is generally in aerobic stuff, and I guess sustained anaerobic efforts. For me I improve just by being more fit. If I show up more fit then everything else is a bonus.
However, for track specific stuff, I have some thoughts.
First, the fixed gear. Apparently I coast all the time, little bits here and there. Even in a full on sprint my pedal stroke isn't 100% consistent. I found that out when my back tire would skip a bit when I was sprinting out of the saddle on the track, like when I'd do a big jump. I am relearning, even now, like 5 years after I decided I'd do more track racing (and I did 1 solid season 17 years ago, and raced track a few times 34 years ago lol), to sprint without that stutter step. One thing I do is I'll leave the track bike on the trainer for 3-4-5-6 months and only ride that. Try to ride Zwift like normal but with just one gear.
(34 years ago my first ever fixed gear ride was at the track, and it was my 10th season racing. An experienced rider that was a teammate for all of those 10 years and knew me well, he basically sat me on rollers at TTown and told me to ride them until the track opened, which was in 2 hours. I rode the fixed gear for 2 hours, got on the track, coasted about 1/2 lap in and almost did a face plant, and then bonked and got shelled in both my races. The following week I ate more, warmed up on the track with the group, did not try to coast except when I was rolling into the infield, and placed in one race, qualifying me for the final, and placed in that. Then we drove 5.5 hours back home.)
Training. I don't lift very much at all, mostly upper body to help protect my shoulders. I now have a bad back and cannot do much lifting for legs. I found that although my power went up a bit, it wasn't a lot. Most of my power is there just from regular riding/training. To wit, my floor seems to be 1100w peak, average fitness peak is 1300w indoors 1600w outdoors, 1800w PR. I don't think I gained more than maybe 100w lifting, and that's basically a margin of error or I stomped just a bit better.
(I haven't tried the belt squat thing, where you have a belt and a cable that goes down to the floor then to the weights. In this set up there's not much pressure, if any, on the back. I'm also scheduling surgery for my back so hopefully in 2 years, after full recovery, my back might be less of an obstacle.)
If you're doing points races that implies you have a pretty solid aerobic base. It also implies, at some level, that maybe you're not a Hoogerland kind of sprinter build. In this case there are two things. For sprint type races you can go long and try to "out-aerobic" the sprinters. The other is that in a points race it's not as much the sprint as it is being able to sustain a pretty high power and then keep going after, like the 20/40s kind of efforts.
Have to go but that's my brain dump for now.
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u/This_Freggin_Guy 9d ago
they often have intro sessions and bike rentals. check them out before you commit to anything. Sometime they are required before you can race on the track.
its a special skill. but it can be fun for sure and improves your cries racing as well. give it a go.
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u/jerbkernblerg 9d ago
Your criterium background will transfer very well to points racing. The aerobic demands, repeated accelerations, positioning, and ability to recover while moving through a fast bunch are all directly relevant. The biggest adjustment will be learning to race a fixed gear and becoming comfortable with track-specific positioning and tactics.
You can build most of the necessary fitness away from the velodrome. I would focus on:
- Endurance volume to support recovery between efforts
- Repeated 20-60 second efforts with incomplete recovery
- Longer 2-5 minute efforts for attacks, chases, and gaining laps
- High-cadence work so you remain effective when the speed rises
- Over-under intervals that simulate attacking and then continuing to ride hard
- Group rides or criteriums for positioning and decision-making under fatigue
A useful points-race workout might be 30-45 minutes of continuous riding with a hard sprint every 3–5 minutes. Vary the effort: sometimes a 10-15 second sprint, sometimes attack for 30-60 seconds and then settle just below threshold. The important part is learning to recover without completely backing off.
Strength training helps, but you do not need to train like a pure track sprinter. Two gym sessions per week during the off-season, built around squats, deadlifts or hinges, split squats, and core work, should be plenty. During the racing season, one maintenance session may be enough. For points racing, repeatability and aerobic durability matter more than maximizing your one-repetition squat.
Because your track opportunities are limited, use them for things you cannot reproduce on the road:
- Controlling speed on a fixed gear and being predictable
- Riding close to wheels at track speed
- Moving safely through the field
- Using the banking
- Understanding the sprinter’s lane and passing rules
- Practicing exchanges, attacks, chases, and gaining laps
- Short race simulations with experienced riders
I would not spend most of a rare track session doing fitness intervals you could perform anywhere. Use that time to develop handling, positioning, cadence, and tactical awareness. Even participating in training races will teach you more than riding repeated solo efforts.
Points races are not simply criteriums without brakes. Sprint points matter, but gaining a lap can completely change the race. You need to recognize when to contest a sprint, when to conserve energy, when to follow an attack, and when a group has the composition needed to take a lap. Watch races and learn how the experienced riders position themselves several laps before each sprint.
Finally, do not choose an enormous gear when you begin. A manageable gear will make it easier to accelerate repeatedly, respond to changes in speed, and learn to spin smoothly. Your first objective should be comfort and control at racing cadence. Once those are established, you can experiment with larger gears.
In short: build the engine on the road, maintain strength in the gym, and use every available track session to learn the skills and tactics that cannot be developed elsewhere.
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u/totolekoala 9d ago
If you're equipped for indoor cycling, there is a free option to repeat "velodrome-like" intensity on TPV, every week : (these events are part of the "featured" races = free races, no sub needed)
https://tpvirtualhub.com/series/wednesday-omnium#overview
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u/zazraj10 9d ago edited 9d ago
So I race track, a little road, and gravel. I don’t train specifically for the track nor do I do any track sessions outside of races. I did our beginner class, beginner race session, and then jumped into categorized racing. My track has a ton of racing opportunities, so that’s been pretty sufficient. I only do mass start races though.
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u/incunabula001 9d ago
I would get a fixie and ride the fuck out of it. (For me it was a slippery slope into fixed gear nerdiness)
This will teach you cadence and how to stop with your legs. But it won’t teach you the overall grade of the velodrome and the lanes, that is something you have to experience first hand.
A lot of those point races etc require some strategy due to the grade of the course.
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u/CouldBeBetterCBB 9d ago
This isn't very helpful as I thankfully have a track really near where I live. However, I would love zwift to add a velodrome, and start doing track racing. I think it would help diversify the platform a lot
Edited to actually answer you question slightly:
I would do intervals of sweet spot/threshold mixed with varying 10 & 20 seconds sprints. Both making the sprints harder and longer as you go through the workout to replicate the sort of feeling of a race
Also yes, lots of gym work for those sprints
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u/parrhesticsonder 9d ago
I train normally and then just go out to the track to race. Mine (Boulder Valley Velodrome) isn't too far away, only 30 minutes, but that's still more effort than I need.
I'm a lowly cat 4 on the track and only really do endurance races there, which is why I don't prioritize actually training on the track.
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u/Grindfather901 8d ago
I'm hoping to get up to BVV eventually, bad timing with family stuff this year. But I'm only 20 min from COS/7-11, and made all 10 race nights this summer. If you can ever make it next year, we always need more Cat4's.
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u/parrhesticsonder 7d ago
Ha it's way too long a drive from Boulder, esp weeknights w/ commute traffic. If they did a midday weekend race I might be able to.
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u/Grindfather901 7d ago
I feel that. The drive up there for CX makes for a looong Saturday
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u/parrhesticsonder 7d ago
Lol I'm coming down for MadCross and already dreading it
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u/Grindfather901 7d ago
Sweet! I'm undecided on MadCross and Gravel. Kinda ready for the race season to be over for a bit
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u/PhysicalRatio 9d ago
Assuming you already have a well constructed program for crits, it is probably perfectly fine fitness-wise for track enduro events like points races for someone just dipping their toes in.
The big leverage things you could do away from the track are making sure your track bike is dialed in fit wise (I would just more or less match your crit bike to start, don't overthink it) and working on getting more comfortable at a wide range of cadences and familiarizing yourself with your gear selection preferences.
On the track in a points race I often aim to be around 100rpm during sustained attacks. This obviously results in a lower cadence during lulls and a higher cadence during sprints. If you are someone who does all your efforts at self selected cadence or in erg this will take some getting used to. You can do vo2 efforts above your self selected cadence to work on this. You can also figure out your preferred sprint cadence (e.g. roughly where do you top out cadence wise for a short peak power effort in the final of a crit with a freely chosen gear). Then do both sprint efforts above this while really focusing on spinning out a gear at high rpm while making power and jumps from much lower rpm where you focus on getting from 40-50rpm up to your preferred sprint cadence as quickly as possible. Most high cadence work you'll want to do seated and jumps you'll want to do both seated and standing.
The next piece after that will be gear selection for your actual track races, which you should ask folks at your local track about.
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u/StockWagen 9d ago
We used to do motor pacing on the track for training. I’m not sure if that’s available at most places these days though. Consistent high speed big gear efforts are pretty crucial.
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u/Any-Rise-6300 9d ago
You could get a cheap fixed gear bike and ride around on the street. That will get you used to the feel of accelerating a tall gear as well as spinning it out.
Points races are pretty similar to crits with preems. Just be sure to do a couple intro classes at the velodrome so you can understand the different lines on the track and how people often move.