Island Life by David Slack

The Madison was oddly compelling. What seemed to be chaos gradually manifested as a contest. And thanks for the background -- I just knew the race would have it roots in cash money.

Wow, that was really interesting.

I'm afflicted by a small voice in my head that, every time I hear the name of this race, says 'Anyone know how to Maddison?'. It's sad, really.

When I head the term ride the madison, I to went to wikipedia to look it up. More and more that place is becoming my current events portal...

When I wanted to know the background to the Russia/Georga conflict thats where I went.

When I wanted to know what really happened in the balkans I went there.

I hardly watch the news anymore...

I got the basic gist of it last night, but I'm hoping that someone can maybe someone how the points work in the Madison.

The points race makes sense. And the bit about the Madison that means that it's most laps that wins, with most points as the tie-breaker also makes sense, but how do people get points in the Madison?

Every, I'm going to say 10 laps, there's a sprint, first over the line gets 5 points, second 3, third 2, and fourth 1 point. But New Zealand got 5 points on an occasion, even though there were two or three teams that were a whole lap ahead of them. Why? How? Is not the person who crosses the line first on a lap the person who is winning?

And what exactly, does "stealing a lap" mean? I was bewildered.

And the "launching" of your teammate. The little physicist in my head was saying "would that actually make you go faster?"

Hadyn - damn. You were supposed to be answering the questions, not asking them!

what exactly, does "stealing a lap" mean?

Stealing a lap is is a phrase that probably comes from stealing a base. Basically, you've done more laps than the others (i.e. you lapped them). The person who has done the most laps wins.

The little physicist in my head was saying "would that actually make you go faster?"

I'd have thought so. Standard preservation of momentum/energy. Not only does it speed them up, it slows you down. I'm not sure it's about going faster, though, rather about avoiding expending energy getting up to speed (which might be more difficult with what are doubtless very high gear ratios).

Isn't the madison a sort-of tag team event, with two per team, taking turns to score points?

Thanks for the background information, folks. I'm reassured that Rupert Murdoch is just another in a long line of robber barons to exploit sport for mega profits.

You rode until you dropped. You suffered delusions, hallucinations.

This reminds me of the trike-a-thon I took part in in 1979, aged 4. I got about halfway around the Hillcrest cycle track on my trike, then decided it was too hard and cut across the middle, back to the start.

That could have been me at the Olympics, you know.

Heh - I'd say Wikipedia's Madison page got a hammering last night.

Le Tour had similar origins as a brutal, brutal race, and those guys weren't using 20-speeds. They were on 'fixed gear' bikes, like today's track bikes, with only one gear. Here's a quote from Wikipedia about the first ascent of the Pyrenees in 1910:

On race day Tour officials waited at the summit, when at last a rider appeared he ignored their queries "What happened? Where are the others?" and looked straight through them with distant, haunted eyes.

Hadyn - damn. You were supposed to be answering the questions, not asking them!

I'm too busy re-writing my bit that was about... the history of the Madison :)

I'm using this as "research" :)

I'm too busy re-writing my bit that was about... the history of the Madison :)
I'm using this as "research" :)

Oops. Sorry 'bout that. I'll give you good odds against this happening again in under a decade.

I got about halfway around the Hillcrest cycle track on my trike, then decided it was too hard and cut across the middle, back to the start.

I saw a greyhound do that - clever tyke actually headed off & caught the thing that supposedly resembles a rabbit.

The meanies disqualified it though.

Oops. Sorry 'bout that. I'll give you good odds against this happening again in under a decade.

No worries, it meant i got to make a joke, instead of actually looking things up

it meant i got to make a joke, instead of actually looking things up

well ... you could still explain the sprinting points :-)

Having read the Wikipedia description of the rules and the official Olympic site and the International Cycling website... I am still confused.

but how do people get points in the Madison?

Every twenty laps there's a sprint, the first four riders over the line in that get the points.

If you have stolen a lap, and joined onto the back of the bunch, you sprint with everyone else, and fight everyone for points. If you happen to be out in front stealing a lap, and not joined onto the bunch at the sprint time, you get easy points. The number of laps don't affect where you are in the order, they just determine who wins the race overall. I presume it's to maintain interest in the race, because if you are a lap behind a team, you could then steal the lap late in the race and still win, and it would be their job to stop you doing so.

So the number of laps you have stolen (or lost) doesn't matter when it comes to the points. However the points only matter in the event of deciding a tie-break between two teams which have the most laps.

And the "launching" of your teammate. The little physicist in my head was saying "would that actually make you go faster?"

I was dubious about this as well, but watching they sure whizzed away from their partner when they were flung forward. I presume the finishing rider pulls forward and flings themselves backwards, and the incoming rider does the opposite. A transfer of momentum I guess.

I presume it comes from the riders having to 'tag'. If you're going to have to tag, you might as well get something out of it.

Also, think short course speed ice skating, where the outgoing skater pushes the incoming skater as part of their tag. They get a fair bit of speed out of that.

This reminds me of the trike-a-thon I took part in in 1979, aged 4. I got about halfway around the Hillcrest cycle track on my trike

Wow, my thoughts exactly... same cycle track, it may have even been the same year. I don't think I cut back across the middle though. The Hillcrest cycle track is clearly much more brutal than it looks from the road.

and:

Is not the person who crosses the line first on a lap the person who is winning?

I think the point is that once you've achieved your extra lap, you get the credit for that and then your position becomes once again just one of the pack. NZ got the 5 points at one stage because they were attempting to steal a lap and so were about half a lap ahead of the main field.

I really enjoyed both the points race and the Madison, and I'll be watching out for both of them next time round.

A Madison is also the name of a not terribly long lasting piercing in the skin a the top of the chest area, just below the neck. Named after a pron star apparently.

Sounds similar though - relatively short lived and painful