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The sprint is a track cycling event involving a one-on-one match race between opponents who, unlike in the individual pursuit, start next to each other.
At major championships, the title is decided on a 'best of three races' format. The initial races may involve more than two riders, with the winners automatically advancing to the next round while the losing riders get a second chance by competing in repechage races.
The event is sometimes called the 1000 metre sprint (reflecting the distance to be covered), but - unlike the sprints in athletics - cycling track sprinters do not usually start sprinting the instant the starting gun is fired. The early parts of each race will often be highly tactical with riders pedalling slowly, as they carefully watch each other and try to get their rivals to make the first move. Some even bring their bicycles to a complete stop (a track stand, a difficult skill, as their feet are strapped or clipped to the pedals of their cycles). The reason for this strange behaviour, like many track cycling events, is aerodynamics.
When racing at high speed, the rider who manages to stay just behind their opponent can 'slipstream', expending less effort (as they are riding through air that is being pulled along behind the 'lead out' rider, this reduces the speed of the wind the second rider feels). Just before the finish, the trailing rider pulls out of the slipstream, and using their fresher legs may be able to overtake their opponent just before the line. (Of course, some riders choose to accelerate quickly before the last lap, hoping to catch their opponents unawares and establish a large enough gap to negate the aerodynamic effect!)
Only the last 200 m is actually timed (on a 250 m track, the event would therefore involve four circuits of the track). The final 200 m is measured along a 'sprint line' close to the inside edge of the track. The 'lead out' rider will often hug this line forcing his opponent to come the long way round; he is not allowed to swing significantly off this line and deliberately impede his opponent.
Famous track sprinters of the past include Britain's Reg Harris and Australians Dunc Gray and Sid Patterson.
Keirin
The Keirin is a variant of the sprint. Instead of relying on a competitor to take the lead, riders are paced in the early laps by a derny motorcycle (which leaves the track a few laps before the end), at a speed of about 50 km/h. The first rider across the finish line in the high-speed (sometimes 70 km/h) race is the winner.
In championships, this event is conducted in several rounds. As with the conventional sprint, eliminated cyclists get the opportunity to try again via the repercharge heats.
Olympic sprint
Despite its name, the Olympic sprint (also known as the team sprint) is not a conventional sprint contest. It is a three-man track time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. Like the (much longer) team pursuit event, two teams race against each other, starting on opposite sides of the track. At the end of the first lap, the leading rider in each team pulls up the banking leaving the second rider to lead for the next lap; at the end of the second lap, the second rider does the same, leaving the third rider to complete the last lap on his own.
See also
"Sprint (cycling)"