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Cycling (Track)

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Meet Our Track Cycling Expert: Erin Mirabella

Erin MirabellaErin Mirabella represented the United States in track cycling at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. Erin's career highlight came at the 2004 Athens Games, where she placed 4th in the points race. In 2006, she was the recipient of the prestigious Jack Kelly Fair Play Award for sportsmanship. Erin has used her experiences as an Olympic athlete to create a series of children's books, The Barnsville Sports Squad. The newest book in the series, Shawn Sheep The Soccer Star, was released July, 2008. Erin lives with her husband Chris, their son Micah, and daughter Lindsey in Woodland Park, Colorado.

Track Cycling

Erin Mirabella
Track cycling is a type of bike racing done on a special cycling track called a velodrome. Velodromes are oval and have banked sides; they look like an oval bowl. Like track and field, track cycling has a wide variety of events. Some events are short, fast and explosive, others are time trials against the clock and some are longer, extremely tactical races. Cyclists compete in track racing at a local level all the way up through the Olympic level. The thing that makes track cycling different from other kinds of bike racing is the bike. Track bikes have no brakes and only one gear.

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  • Track Cycling: Each Velodrome Is Unique
    A cycling track is called a velodrome. There are 25 velodromes scattered around the United States; some in pristine condition and others run-down and neglected. Not all velodromes are the same. All are oval and have some degree of banking, but the size, surface and ambiance varies drastically. Some are extremely short and compact with very steep banking; others are long, cigar shaped, shallow tracks with huge grassy infields; some velodromes are indoors, some outdoors, some wood, others concrete. Describing them sounds a bit like the start to a Dr. Seuss book.
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  • Riding a Velodrome: Tips From Olympic Track Cyclist

    For most beginners, riding up on the banking of a velodrome is an intimidating prospect. It's hard to imagine the bike won't slide right down it. Add to that, the fact that track bikes have no brakes and some people start thinking twice about giving it a try.You can relax! Despite the way it looks and sounds, riding a track is relatively easy and a lot of fun. Like anything else, it just takes some getting used to. Here are five things to remember that will make your child more comfortable and help him enjoy the experience.

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  • Develop Pre-Competition Routine For Optimum Athletic Performance
    Parents and coaches who help athletes develop a pre-competition routine will see enormous dividends.   Tweaked to fit a child’s specific needs, it can be valuable not only for sports (such as cross-country and track), but for tests at school, or virtually any activity.
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  • Training Journals Can Help Maximize Athletic Performance
    Keeping a training journal can help an athlete understand not only what they did to perform at their best but their worst.
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