track cycling – TrackCyclingSA

8 good reasons to try out track cycling

Track Cycling SA club provides structure for riders from other disciplines to experience the joy of track cycling. Here is why we recommend considering track cycling.

Beginner sessions – Track Cycling SA club helps new riders to get started in a supporting environment.
Access to bikes – New riders start on the club’s bikes. There is no barrier to entry.
Structured training – We have free training sessions at the velodrome.
Fun and excitement – Riding on the banked walls is exhilarating. The atmosphere is lively. There is a huge sense of achievement.
Camaraderie and community – Track cycling involves training and racing with others, which can create strong bonds and a sense of community.
Improved skills – Better bike handling skills and race craft.
Physical benefits – Improved fitness. Increased strength and power. Enhanced anaerobic endurance.
Safe environment- No cars, no pedestrians, no wind, no rain, and no dark. First Aid level 2 and Guardian approved club staff. Structured training.

Track Cycling SA club offers free track intro sessions at Bellville velodrome. Bikes and coaching are provided. Our next one is a Women’s track day on Sunday, 19 Jan. Pre-bookings close on Tuesday, 14 Jan.

Successful “Try out track” at velodrome

12 new riders tried out track at a free session hosted by Track Cycling SA cycling club.

The event took place on Sunday, 24 Nov, at Bellville velodrome.

There were 7 riders ages between 14 to 17 and 2 under 10 riders. There were also 3 veterans who joined.

Here are some pictures of an enjoyable and fun skills session at the track.

The next track day is in Feb 2025 and will focus on girls and women’s participation.

Higher power for longer in 4 weeks

Vo2 max intervals may be beneficial to athletes who already have a solid aerobic endurance base and who have reached a power plateau. Vo2 max training may give a competitive advantage in events which require higher power demands such as track endurance events, hill climbs and criteriums.

The stimulus of VO2 max intervals can improve power. The VO2 max program below is ideal to help athletes to cycle at a higher power for longer within 4 weeks. It starts with short VO2 max intervals to boost power and then works up to longer intervals to sustain it.

4-week VO2 max power training plan

The above 4-week VO2 max power plan is ideal to be applied after an endurance cycle such as per any of the below two plans:

4-week aerobic endurance plan ( 5-6h per week)

4-week aerobic endurance plan (6h – 7.5h)

Dial up aerobic fitness in four weeks

Aerobic fitness is key for cycling. Cycling events longer than a kilo on the track utilize aerobic energy. A well developed aerobic system will help a cyclist to ride at a higher intensity for longer.

The 4-week aerobic fitness programs in the links below can be used pre-season or at the start of a season. They can be applied to prepare for road, track, MTB and gravel disciplines.

6-7h per week aerobic fitness program

5-6h per week aerobic fitness program

Click here to view all programs by TrackCyclingSA coach, Jaco Scholtz.

The future looks bright at Bellville velodrome

The third round of the Western Province track league took place on Fri, 2 August, at Bellville velodrome. This event was back to back following the one on Friday, 26 July.

It was the second track event at Bellville velodrome under the new LED lights which replaced the existing 30-year old lights that that were at end of lifespan.

This upgrade solidified the Bellville velodrome as the top indoor cycling facility in Africa.

The program was fast and action packed. Racing started at 7pm and ended at 9.30pm. There was racing for category A to E and riders from under 11 up to 75 – 79 competed.

There were several highlights. Here is our top 5:

10km scooter scratch (30 laps scooter and 10 laps scratch) in 11min59s at 50kmh. Carl Bonthuys winning.

The Western Province elite team pursuit squad in action and closing in on 50kmh.

Imtiyaaz “Sparkles” Schultz first cat A win with a long sprint in the 8 laps scratch race.

The Cat D kids racing at 40kmh in their scooter scratch.

Cat E kids start list growing with 2 more riders joining in.

Here is the leader board:

WP track league #3 on 2 Aug 24 – results Download

WP track league 2024 points table after after 3 of 4 events Download

The next event is planned for Friday, 30 August, 2024. Follow WP track on Whatsapp for event updates.

Follow TrackCyclingSA on Facebook for news and updates about track cycling in South Africa.

Photos courtesy of Marc Pentz photography.

125th Paarl Boxing day

The 125th Paarl Boxing day track cycling challenge took place at the Faure street stadium, Paarl, on Tuesday 26 December.

This track cycling event started in 1897 with the open 25-mile race being the most prestigious event on the program. The winner of this races gets their name engraved on the Minnaar trophy that dates back to 1908.

90 riders participated this year ranging in categories from under 11 scholars to masters.

The elite field saw the professional rider, Jonas Rickaert, from Belgium lining up on the start line along side the top local track riders. He took top honours by winning the 25-mile and was also awarded the top rider of the day trophy.

Jonas Rickaert wins the 25-mile race. Photo Marc Pentz

Here are the results of all the races.

Track league goes back to the 80’s

The WP track league kicks off on Saturday, 20 May’23, at Bellville velodrome. The loadshedding schedule has been consulted and there is no impact on the event.

Entries close on 17 May’23. Click here for league and event details.

The maximum gear ratio is limited to 90-inches. This encourages rides to use leg speed. It is a fun way to get going again on the track after a break since the track nations in April.

Track cyclists ready to race

Track cyclists from across South Africa are ready to race at Maximum Velocity 7. This is the final event at Bellville velodrome before the national track cycling championships.

It takes place on the Cape Town Cycle Tour weekend. This allows visiting riders the chance to an outing on the track on Friday, 10 Nov, before the Cycle Tour.

The program is fast and action packed. It features a sprint invitation, a team pursuit and and endurance competition.

The sprint event is by invitation and these riders will entertain the crowds in a match sprint tournament.

The endurance events are there to sharpen the skills before the national championship. It features technical events such as the points, scooter scratch and elimination races. Riders in the Cape are familiar with the scooter scratch. This is an endurance race where the scooter paces the riders for a set amount of laps while they rotate. Riders may only sit behind the scooter for 1 lap. The scooter pulls of with a few laps to go and then it is a scratch race from there.

Spectator entry is free. There will be coffee and food on sale at the event.

Entries close on Tuesday, 7 March 2023. No late entries.

Sign-on and number collection closes at 6.30pm on race night. Racing starts at 7pm and finishes at 10pm.

Entry details are here: https://www.wpcycling.com/event/maximum-velocity-7-track-classic-bellville-velodrome/?instance_id=2526

The program is here: https://www.wpcycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/MV7-DRAFT-PROGRAM.pdf

Results of WP track league 2

The 2nd event of the series of nine saw a jam packed program. There was racing for all categories and the team pursuit returned to the program.

Superschools broadcasted the event. Download the app and view all the races here.

The event started with the flying sprint qualifyers. Jordan September set a time of 11.88s on a cold and rainy winters night. Duwayne Adams followed with 11.90s and Wade Theunissen came in third on 12.08. Dirk van Zyl was the top veteran at 12.63s.

There was a Western Cape cycling Presidents award ceremony that followed. This was to recognize the role that Willie Engelbrecht played in building cycling in South Africa. Willie said that his journey started at the velodrome (old Bellville track) and that that young champions on the track are bound to be the champions of the future.

Willie Engelbrecht (left) receives the Western Cape cycling President’s award from Shumeez Dollie.

Racing continued for all categories. The team pursuit was interesting since it was held over only 8 laps and the speed was kept high. Kinetic Pro set the best time at just under 50kmh average for the 2km.

The final event of the night was the 3-up match sprint and this was the highlight for many spectators. Jordan September led out the sprint and it looked as if Duwayne Adams was going to close him down with Wade Theunissen also in the mix. It was decided on the line with Jordan just pipping Wade and Duwayne. It was great racing to round off a top notch night at the velodrome.

Jordan September (Kinetic Pro) wins the match sprint final ahead of Wade Theunissen (Enza) and Duwayne Adams (DSV)

Remember to view all of the races on the Superschools app: Download the app and view all the races here.

Here are the full results of the event:

Bellville-track-league-2-results-complete Download

WP track league off to a strong start

The first of nine Western Province (WP) league events took place at Bellville velodrome on Wednesday, 1 June.

The event featured an invitation sprint tournament, Category A, Category B, Women’s, veterans and scholars racing.

Team events are back at the league and the program started with team sprints.

DSV took the team sprint win ahead of the ASAP team. TrackCyclingSA was third and Active Bodies sport development was fourth.

A 4-lap keirin was run to keep the pace high

The league features a sprint tournament where invited sprinters do battle for the sprint trophy. Jordan September (Kinetic Pro) started the sprint tournament with a win in the keirin and then also set the fastest flying 200m qualifying time. The 3-up match sprint final delivered a surprise. Duwayne Adams (DSV) jumped and held off both Jordan September and Wade Theunissen (Enza) for a convincing match sprint win. Jordan heads the sprint tournament going in to the next round.

Category A racing started with a 30-lap tempo race which was won by Jonathan Bouwer (Kinetic pro) at and average speed of 47.3 km/h. The next event was a surprise since the fans voted for it. The riders only heard that it was an elimination scratch when they lined up at the start. It was “bell, off”, “bell, off” unitl 4 riders remained. The 4 riders then had a 4-lap scratch. Linwell Jansen (Enza) took it long to take the win. The final category A event was a 25-lap scratch race and Jonathan Bouwer (Kinetic Pro) was victorious. Jonathan finished on top of the Category A standings at the end of the night.

Maroesjka Matthee is the overall Women’s leader after round 1 of 9 events

Maroesjka Matthee (Reach for Rainbows) took a hat-trick in the Women’s events by winning the 4-lap, 6-lap and tempo races.

Theo Williams (DSV) is leading the Category B field after victories in the 8-lap and tempo races.