On the way home from the aborted swim, we (well, I, with Lee graciously agreeing) decided to stop by the velodrome to watch some of the Oceania Track Cycling Championships that were going on.

They race a morning session, then take a long break and race again in the evening. We had a bit of stress finding a gas station, and as a result we got to the track only in time to catch the last race in the morning.

It was the medal final of the elite men’s points race. There’s 6 seconds of video…

There are lots of different race formats contested in the velodrome. Sometimes, like in the individual pursuit, you just put your head down and pedal as hard as you can. Other times, like in the individual sprint race, it’s all cat and mouse tactics, sometimes the two riders literally stand still, hoping to be in the slipstream for the final lap.

The points race is something in between. 24 riders started. It’s a long race, 160 laps or 40km, which took them about 45 minutes. There’s a sprint every 10 laps, and you get points for being in the top 3 on each sprint. So, 8-9 laps of cruising and jockeying for position followed by a big sprint, repeated 16 times. But there’s a catch… if a rider jumps ahead during the non-sprint and gains a whole lap, it’s worth as much as winning 4 sprints.

The riders who took first and second both did it by gaining a lap and being competitive enough in the other sprints.

Sports is funny… here’s these Olympic / future Olympic / professional / future professional athletes in an international event… wow!!! But there’s no money in it. Spectating was free, and most of the seats were empty. Friends and family, mostly. A decent high school rugby match attracts 1,000 people, more for championships.