Getting Los Angeles Back on Track

This may seem a little out of place at a mountain bike magazine, but the brand-new $15 million velodrome in Los Angeles is too amazing to ignore. Last weekend, top junior track racers from across the globe came to the ADT Center to compete in the UCI Junior Track World Championships. The five-day event was the first major race to showcase the awe-inspiring 45-degree banks and smooth Siberian Pine finish of the massive indoor track.

Photo by Pete Simpson

The Bike staff made the short trip up to the smog-town of LA to see the action of the Madison and Team Sprints. It was well worth the drive. The aggressive racing kept us on the edge of our seats (literally) all afternoon. For those of you unfamiliar with track racing, the Madison is the best event to watch. It's named after New York's Madison Square Garden where it originated in the late nineteenth century. It's a type of relay—one teammate rests while the other races—but instead of handing off a baton, the rider switching out of competition grabs his teammate's hand and flings him forward, into battle. Since the riders are switching off, speeds stay brutally fast through the entire 30- to 60-kilometer race, and faster riders have to dart past slower ones. It's an impressive display of guts and bike handling skills.

Though the Americans fought valiantly during Sunday's 30-kilometer Madison, they ended up crashing out, and the Australians put-on the winning performance. With such aggressive, tight racing, crashes were unfortunately a big factor in who took the win. Major injuries on the track are rare, but bodies and bikes hitting pine boards at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour look and sound horrific.

The ADT Center is North America's one and only permanent, international-level, indoor velodrome. If you missed the Junior World Championships, they're also hosting a UCI World Cup in December and 2005 UCI Track World Championships in March. After seeing the action, you'll be excited to learn that the ADT Center, along with most other velodromes, is open to beginners for clinics, training classes and amateur races. If you're interested in Southern California track racing, contact Velodrome Director Roger Young at adteventcenter@aol.com or visit www.homedepotcenter.com