Moderators: I have done a search for an open Cycle Sport thread and found none. If there is one, please feel free to merge this one. Thank you!
I posted a little snippet in the "Why are there less cycle spaces..." thread about Grasstrack racing and was asked by a couple of forum members if I could elaborate further. Grasstrack is a bit of a niche interest, so I have started this thread for general discussion of all aspects of Cycle Sport, whether it be Road, Time Trial, Track (hard and grass), Cycle Cross, Mountain Biking (all variations!), BMX, or Cycle Speedway. (I think I've covered them all!)
So, to the original question, "What is Grasstrack racing?"
Grasstrack racing is a variation of "Normal" track racing, as seen on the telly at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, etc. The grass version of the sport is invariably outdoors, but there is rarely a standard length or geometry of track, the track being laid out to fill the available are of grass. The track is usually flat, without banked corners, although the grasstrack I am most familiar with at Roundhay Park in Leeds is banked at both ends, a legacy of the age of the track - it was constructed in 1894! Richmond (North Yorkshire) also has a banked grasstrack, but I am not currently aware of any others. I say the track is usually flat, the track used for the Cumbrian Games in Ambleside is notorious as being steep enough to get you riding out of the saddle going up one side and holding the bike back enough that you can get round the turn going down the other.
The bikes used on grass are basically track bikes with greater clearance to allow the use of cycle cross knobbly tyres, usually around 32 or 33mm in width, with different tyre patterns available depending on whether the grass is long or short or recently cut, whether it is wet or dry and whether there is a fair amount of mud around. Being track bikes, there is just the one gear, with a fixed wheel sprocket and no brakes! Some leagues and meetings allow children in the Under 12 age groups to use standard cycle cross bikes or mountain bikes with gears, brakes, etc to allow a less expensive entry to the sport, as most of the kids who are interested will have some variation on these already. This is certainly the case at Roundhay where all the U12s race on 'cross or mountain bikes, to the extent that we sometimes have kids who are just passing through the park with their parents signing up and racing that very evening!
The races are generally some variation on either "Sprint" or "Endurance". At Roundhay, where our lap is around 400m (it varies depending on ground conditions, current weather and who is marking it out!) we vary between 1 lap sprint races and longer endurance races depending on age group - Under 8s will have a 1 lap scratch race, older age groups get progressively longer races - the adults will have 3 or 4 lap scratch races. We also have handicap races, where the handicapper tries to line the riders up for the start with the aim of getting all the riders to cross the line at the same time - it happens more often than the judging team would like! At the end of the night, we generally stick in an "Unknown Distance" race, where the Chief Commissaire (usually me!) decides how many laps they are going to race once the race has started, so the ringing of the bell for the last lap is a surprise to everyone (including me sometimes!!)
Hope this helps those who were interested. My experience is as a Regional Commissaire for Track Racing, I am the usual Chief Commissaire for both the West Riding Grasstrack League at Roundhay and York Track League (Outdoor 250m Tarmac Velodrome)
Any questions, feel free to ask!
Dazzler
I posted a little snippet in the "Why are there less cycle spaces..." thread about Grasstrack racing and was asked by a couple of forum members if I could elaborate further. Grasstrack is a bit of a niche interest, so I have started this thread for general discussion of all aspects of Cycle Sport, whether it be Road, Time Trial, Track (hard and grass), Cycle Cross, Mountain Biking (all variations!), BMX, or Cycle Speedway. (I think I've covered them all!)
So, to the original question, "What is Grasstrack racing?"
Grasstrack racing is a variation of "Normal" track racing, as seen on the telly at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, etc. The grass version of the sport is invariably outdoors, but there is rarely a standard length or geometry of track, the track being laid out to fill the available are of grass. The track is usually flat, without banked corners, although the grasstrack I am most familiar with at Roundhay Park in Leeds is banked at both ends, a legacy of the age of the track - it was constructed in 1894! Richmond (North Yorkshire) also has a banked grasstrack, but I am not currently aware of any others. I say the track is usually flat, the track used for the Cumbrian Games in Ambleside is notorious as being steep enough to get you riding out of the saddle going up one side and holding the bike back enough that you can get round the turn going down the other.
The bikes used on grass are basically track bikes with greater clearance to allow the use of cycle cross knobbly tyres, usually around 32 or 33mm in width, with different tyre patterns available depending on whether the grass is long or short or recently cut, whether it is wet or dry and whether there is a fair amount of mud around. Being track bikes, there is just the one gear, with a fixed wheel sprocket and no brakes! Some leagues and meetings allow children in the Under 12 age groups to use standard cycle cross bikes or mountain bikes with gears, brakes, etc to allow a less expensive entry to the sport, as most of the kids who are interested will have some variation on these already. This is certainly the case at Roundhay where all the U12s race on 'cross or mountain bikes, to the extent that we sometimes have kids who are just passing through the park with their parents signing up and racing that very evening!
The races are generally some variation on either "Sprint" or "Endurance". At Roundhay, where our lap is around 400m (it varies depending on ground conditions, current weather and who is marking it out!) we vary between 1 lap sprint races and longer endurance races depending on age group - Under 8s will have a 1 lap scratch race, older age groups get progressively longer races - the adults will have 3 or 4 lap scratch races. We also have handicap races, where the handicapper tries to line the riders up for the start with the aim of getting all the riders to cross the line at the same time - it happens more often than the judging team would like! At the end of the night, we generally stick in an "Unknown Distance" race, where the Chief Commissaire (usually me!) decides how many laps they are going to race once the race has started, so the ringing of the bell for the last lap is a surprise to everyone (including me sometimes!!)
Hope this helps those who were interested. My experience is as a Regional Commissaire for Track Racing, I am the usual Chief Commissaire for both the West Riding Grasstrack League at Roundhay and York Track League (Outdoor 250m Tarmac Velodrome)
Any questions, feel free to ask!
Dazzler
)
5,000 miles may call for a bigger celebration!