Editing Track cycling (section)

==History==

[[File:Paris2.jpg|thumb|An outdoor track race in Paris in 1908 featuring [[Major Taylor]], the first African-American cyclist to become world champion]]
[[File:Aero special, racing bicycle, c 1910, Bike Museum, Balassagyarmat.jpg|thumb|Aero Special track bicycle, original, c. 1910]]
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it was held on velodromes similar to the ones used today.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/cycling-track-equipment-and-history|title=Cycling Track Equipment and History - Olympic Sport History|date=15 May 2018|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref> These velodromes consisted of two straights and slightly banked turns, though they varied more in length and material than the modern 250 m track.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/get_involved/4261854.stm|title=History of track cycling|date=13 December 2005|access-date=6 November 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/sports/cycling|title=Cycling {{!}} sport|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref>

One appeal of indoor track racing was that spectators could be easily controlled, and hence an entrance fee could be charged, making track racing a lucrative sport. Early track races attracted crowds of up to 2,000 people. Indoor tracks also enabled year-round cycling for the first time. The main early centers for track racing in Britain were Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and London.

The most noticeable changes in over a century of track cycling have concerned the bikes themselves, engineered to be lighter and more aerodynamic to enable ever-faster times.

Track cycling has been featured in every [[modern Olympic Games]] except the [[1912 Olympics|1912 Games]]. Women's track cycling events were first included in the modern Olympics in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stillmed.olympic.org/AssetsDocs/OSC%20Section/pdf/QR_sports_summer/Sports_olympiques_cyclisme_sur_piste_eng.pdf|title=Cycling: The History of Track Cycling at the Olympic Games|date=March 2015|website=Olympic Studies Centre|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926125930/https://stillmed.olympic.org/AssetsDocs/OSC%20Section/pdf/QR_sports_summer/Sports_olympiques_cyclisme_sur_piste_eng.pdf|archive-date=26 September 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The sport was moved indoors since [[2000 Summer Olympics]] in [[Sydney]], Australia, mainly because of the hot weather.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/cycling-track-equipment-and-history|title=Cycling Track Equipment and History - Olympic Sport History|date=15 May 2018|website=International Olympic Committee|language=en|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

Along the decades, track lengths have been gradually reduced. Early velodromes varied in length between 130 and 500 metres long. By the 1960s to 1989, a standard length of {{convert|333.333|m|ftin|3}} length was commonly used for international competitions. Since 1990, international velodromes are built with a length of {{convert|250|m|yd|3}}, though tracks of many lengths are still in use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.velodrome.shop/velodrome|title=Track Cycling Guides - Velodrome|website=Velodrome Shop|access-date=6 November 2019}}</ref>