speaking of racing ..

[bobalou]

So, who's got who in the olympics?

I'm going to be watching for Colby Pearce myself (track). Described as "the most aerodynamic rider in the world".

The guy has a good story, this one just recently out (might require registration):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Jul27.html

[Racing Aardvark]

Colby is awesome. He's very down to earth, very quiet, he's not the kind of guy you norally think of when you say "Olympic athlete". He's also one of the smoothest pedallers I've ever seen (watching the Eurossport coverage of the Track World Cup).

[bobalou]

He competes in a "points" event. Can anyone explain to me the difference between a points and "scratch" event? I'm not familiar with track racing.

[nicrump]

points race gives points on dedicated laps. most points in the end wins. a scratch race is like a road race, mass start, first one over the line wins.

[Racing Aardvark]

points race gives points on dedicated laps. most points in the end wins. a scratch race is like a road race, mass start, first one over the line wins.

also, you can score points in the points race by lapping the field (20 points is standard rule I believe). Crazy race, but the Madison (basically a two man tag team points race) is even MORE insane!

[bobalou]

Have you ever met him or seen him race in person RA? He must race and/or train in your area. Great story about him .. what do you think his chances are of a medal? There's no track coverage on the channels I get.

[Cyco]

Points race: can be any distance but Olympic/Worlds distance is 40km with sprints every 2km. Points are awarded 5,3,2,1 every sprint and 20 points for lapping the field.

Scratch race: can be any distance but Olympic/Worlds distance is 20km. First across the line wins. If the field is lapped then the lapped riders are given a sprint 3 laps to go for the rest of the positions, and the lappers finish at the last lap.

Others that are great to watch are the Kirin and the Madision. The madision can be a little hard to follow but its worth it.

[KRAFTWERK]

Funny, I was thinking yesterday that it would be interesting to have a track forum, there must be some weenies in that field too

I don't know so much about this because I don´t have a track nearby, but when you look at it on tv it looks really interesting with the tactics, the nice looking bikes and all.

So what do you think, do we have enough trackers to ask for a seperate forum?, I know I would hang there occasionally if there were one...

[Racing Aardvark]

there are very few weight weenies on the track. More like aero and low rolling resistance weenies

Yes, I know Colby. Yes, he lives here in Boulder, as do a lot of the guys on his team. My wife has spent quite a bit of time with him this year taking photos, and he has always been very sweet and helpful. Actually, he was her first "studio" session, posing on his Tiemayer so she could work on edgy, artsy shots.

As for his chances of winning a medal, I think he has a shot. Is he a favorite? No, BUT he has pulled off some great results this year, like winning the Scratch race at the Mexico World Cup. Colby is very dedicated, and he is a hell of a guy. I hope the kids on the team realize how good a role model he is.

Oh yeah, and I can vouch he is 100% CLEAN baby!

[bobalou]

I'm guessing here.. based on the look of the teams website, did your wife shoot those also? Nice photos.

http://www.tiaa-cref.org/cycling/

[Racing Aardvark]

yup, she's in New York this weekend for the NYC Cycling Championship.

[SuperP]

He competes in a "points" event. Can anyone explain to me the difference between a points and "scratch" event? I'm not familiar with track racing.

Check out http://www.nbcolympics.com/cycling/about.html
There is a flash page on the events which tells about the types of races & how points are given.

[bobalou]

Thanks for that NBC link. Has some good information on events but not much on the actual riders.

Anyone know of a link that shows all atheletes that are competing in what cycling events? The actual olympic website leaves much to be desired. http://www.athens2004.com/athens2004/