Everything you need to know about track cycling at the London Olympics

With 10 gold medals up for grabs at the Velodrome, London’s Olympic park is expected to be the epicenter of the British gold rush in 2012.

Following massive government investment, Britain took 7 of the 10 available gold medals in Beijing and will be looking for a similar result on their home turf.

Individual Sprint

While circling the track three times, simultaneously starting riders will spend the first 550 meters fighting for position while only the final 200 meters is counted on the clock.

 

Sir Chris Hoy took three gold medals in Beijing.

Team Sprint

Nations will race head-to-head in squads of three with winners proceeding to the next round. Riders will take turns at the front of their squad while the others hang in the slipstream.

Keirin

The Keirin may look odd from a distance but in reality, it’s the most intensely strategic of all the track cycling events. Seven riders will mass start behind a derby motorcycle, slowly increasing its pace before exiting the race with 700 meters to go. While trailing, the motorcycle riders are jockeying for space for an ideal point to launch their final sprint.

Team Pursuit

Teams of four will start from the opposite ends of the Velodrome before completing 16 laps. The ultimate goal of the event is to catch the other team but if that isn’t achieved, then the team with the best time is declared the winner.

Omnium

By far the most complicated of the events, the Omnium is a points based event that takes place over six different races.

A 250 meter Velodrome lap against the clock, an endurance race with points for intermediate sprints, en elimination, in which the last rider over the lap line will be eliminated until there is only one rider remaining, a scratch race and a one kilometer time trial.