Cool Stuff

Track Racing Terms

As with most sports, there's a whole different language among cyclists. Here is some of the jargon heard at the velodrome:

attack	to suddenly accelerate off the front of a group of riders by one or more riders
blocking	to slow down the filed in hopes to assist a teammate that is part of a breakaway
breakaway	one or more riders that have pulled ahead of the main pack of riders
bridge (a gap)	to ride away from the field and catch a breakaway
chase	an attempt to catch a breakaway
drafting	to ride in the slipstream created by another rider thus enabling the drafting rider to conserve energy.
field	the main group of riders, also known as the pack or peloton
forcing the pace	to ride at a fast speed in hopes to increase the speed of the group, or alternatively, drop less able rides from the group
gap	the distance between individuals or groups, e.g., between a breakaway and the field
hammering	to ride all out
jump	a quick acceleration, usually part of a sprint
paceline	a line of riders who share turns in the lead position
prime	pronounced "preem", a race within a race for extra prizes
pull	to take a turn at the front of a paceline or group and share the labor of fighting the wind thereby allowing others to benefit from your slipstream
sitting-in	to draft without taking a turn at the front
spin	to pedal at a high RPM, track bikes have only one gear, to go faster, you have to pedal faster
trackie	a rider who primarily races on the track rather than on the road ("roadie") or off-road