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TRACK TRAINING ZONES

The Cote d’Azur (also known as apron or blue band) is the inside edge of the track. This part of the track is not part of the racing surface. Do not ride here! A rider may use this area to gain speed before entering the racing surface or to decelerate as they leave the racing surface. Slow riding or recovery should be avoided here when there are a number of riders riding in an unstructured manner. Occasionally during structured workouts riders will be required to use the apron for recovery. During timed events, long sponges are placed across the apron perpendicular to bike traffic to prevent riders from cutting the measured distance short.

 

The Sprinters Lane is the area between the Cote d’ Azur and the red Sprinters Line. It includes the Measurement Line (Black Line). This lane is often referred to as the pole or pole lane. This area is reserved for fast full-on efforts! Riders will be coming down from the railing to do fast race speed efforts in this area as it is the shortest distance around the track. It is a “right of way” lane. Riders may only cross this area ( after doing a thorough shoulder check) on their way to the blue Stayers Line or on their way down to the Cote d’ Azur when dismounting from the track. Riders should not ride slowly in this area. This is for fast riding only!

 

No Man’s Land is the area between the red Sprinters Line and the blue Stayers Line. Do not ride or do efforts here! It is too confusing and dangerous as riders at speed in the sprint lane cannot be sure whether a rider here is going to drop down on them or move up. Use it only when crossing into or out of the sprinters lane.

 

Stayers Line. The blue line about one third the way up the track surface. This is a good place to ride tempo ( steady paced). ( At or around a foot above it). Warm-up pacelines are often done here as well as solo warm-ups when the sprinter’s lane is busy. It the place to ride in order to stay out of the way when the track is busy. Most steady and moderately paced riding is done here. Side by side riding and chatting here should be avoided when the track is busy.

 

Rail. The top one meter of surface near the railing is also a “right of way” lane like the sprinters lane. It is used primarily for winding up efforts. It is not a place to chat! It is not an area you should swing up into without looking. Riders at the rail are often going at full throttle as they prepare to dive down into the sprinters lane doing flying efforts. If a rider is winding up at the rail and another rider is in the way he will call out “RAIL”. The offending rider should head the warning, look down track and move a meter or so away from the railing. When warming up during race meets or during busy training sessions there is a temptation to stop at the rail to talk with friends or fans or coaches. Do not hang on or near the rail! Learn to get into your pedals on the apron and ride onto the racing surface from the inside of the track!