Track cycling is a wonderful sport where you ride indoors (most of the time), in circles around a velodrome. Most velodromes approved by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for sports cycling, are built to a standard where the measurement around the outer edge of the black (pole) line, measures 250m.

The bikes have a single fixed gear, meaning you only have one gear of choice and you have to keep pedalling, so no free-wheeling. If you’re lucky, you can start the sport when you’re young, but many people, including myself, find the sport when you reach adulthood.

In my role as a coach at the velodrome in Cambridge, I take two sessions a week for predominantly master’s riders. One is a private group and I’ve had the privilege of taking them from beginner track riders through to being accomplished on the track, some of them even now compete at a regional or national level. The other group is for more advanced riders and designed to test speed endurance over a two-hour period (with rest in between each exercise).

Each rider undertakes the exercises set to the best of their ability, yet each set is balanced with some ‘active recovery’
We aim to work hard but have lots of fun too. When riders are ‘caught’ drafting off each other during individual efforts, the penalty is 20 burpees. This gives everyone a laugh. Sometimes we even perform an exercise where the riders can navigate the track clockwise instead of anticlockwise. This is a great exercise for concentration and skill development.

While studying at Wintec, I’ve found my knowledge has increased so I can help these athletes and answer any queries they have with their training with more confidence and provide them with research that is evidence-based which enables them to make ‘informed’ decisions with training.
If you have never ridden the track and would like to, there are always weekend sessions available for you to get some indoor riding on the wooden boards and for you to become accredited.

Thank you to all the riders who gave their permission for me to photograph them on both sessions.