Key facts

Venue: Velodrome
Dates: Thursday 2 – Tuesday 7 August
Medal events: 10
Athletes: 188 (104 men, 84 women)

Cycling has a long and fascinating history in the UK. As early as 1870, large crowds were drawn to races held in England on indoor wooden tracks, which closely resembled the velodromes of today.

Thanks in part to recent British success in the sport, track cycling is now as popular here as it’s ever been, and is sure to draw huge crowds at London 2012.

The basics

There are ten Olympic Track Cycling events (five for men, five for women), which between them test speed, endurance and teamwork. The Sprint consists of a series of three-lap races, with riders racing head-to-head. The Keirin features up to seven riders sprinting for victory, after following a pacing motorcycle at the beginning of the race.

There will be two team events: the Team Sprint, which is actually similar to a time trial, and the Team Pursuit, held over 16 laps for men and 12 laps for women. Finally, there’s the Omnium. Making its Olympic debut at London 2012, the Omnium features individual riders competing against each other across six different disciplines on the track.

Olympic Track Cycling, past and present

Jargon buster

• Derny: The pacing motorcycle used in Keirin races.
• Gear ratio: The number of cogs on the front chainring divided by the number of cogs on the rear sprocket.
• Omnium: New to the Olympic programme, the Omnium event features riders competing across six disciplines. Points in each discipline are awarded according to position: the winner gets one point, the second-placed finisher scores two, and so on. After all six disciplines, the rider with the fewest points wins the gold.

See the London 2012 Olympic Games competiton schedule

Get involved

Cycling is a great way to keep fit, as well as an environmentally friendly means of transport.

British Cycling's club development programme, called Go-Ride, is aimed at encouraging clubs to help young cyclists enjoy their cycling in a safe, off-road environment.

For more information, see British Cycling and the International Cycling Union.