Equal Race:
Once the end of lap 2 comes around and both riders are still jockeying for position it likely means that the race will be close. The riders will be getting the bell at the end of lap two and likely will have not started the real race yet. It is still considering taking it long (335 meters) to jump out of corner 4 just before the bell. Often though this is where the riders will fake going for the sprint. One rider jumping down track, trying to get the other rider to commit to the sprinters lane.
The Sprinters Lane:
Once the real race starts, whenever the riders commit to the finish, the rider who takes the lane (between red and black) while in the lead gets to keep it. It is the officials call if the behind rider takes the lane first, then the front riders drops into the lane on top of the other rider. Not only does the rider in the lane own the lane, but they may not make any harsh moves out of the lane either. A rider in the lane in the final sprint will likely be disqualified if they leave the lane and vice-versa a rider who drops into the lane on another rider will be disqualified. This is why you will often see riders just above the red line where they are allowed more freedom to move by the officials.
The Bell Lap:
As the riders get the bell and enter the final lap, they don't have very much time (about 20 seconds) to decide what to do. Committing to the lane too soon will require you to stay there (note some tracks/officials will let you slowly come out of the lane while others will not) and lead the race out. Not taking the lane could allow the other rider to take the lane and pass underneath you (this is legal if you leave the lane open). So it is a chess match to see who leads out the sprint.
The Finish:
As the speed picks up the rider in the lane has two basic ways to win, constant acceleration or just go as fast as possible. The fast as possible may seem better, but the rear/outside rider will have the better chance to win by staying a length behind then doing a slingshot around the lead rider going into and then out of corner four. By using a slower acceleration you can fake out the rear rider to get them side by side on the back straight. If the rider on the outside does not pull past on the back straight it is very unlikely that the outside rider will win. Once the corner starts the outside rider not only has to go farther but must climb a few feet as well. Even the slight downhill finish will not help unless the outside rider is just plain faster or has better gear selection for the current pace, when the outside rider and inside rider are shoulder to shoulder going into corner three.
If the outside rider times it just right, they will be one length behind and closing at the start of corner three. They will then use that speed to go up track one meter as they catch the lead rider in the between corner three and four (just below the Alpenrose sign). They should still have a slight speed advantage as well as a draft to continue gaining through the final corner and have their front wheel at the inside riders crank by the exit of corner. Then the more downhill finish will allow the outside rider to pull past the inside rider by the finish line some 50 meters away.
The inside rider may try to float to the outside at this point, but that will risk a crash and disqualification if done improperly. So remember if you took the lane you should keep it, but always ask the officials what the exact rule is before the race. It is usually either one meter of movement at a time (this is wider than the lane which is on 70cm) or you just can't leave the lane. It is up to the officials to keep the race safe, so any quick movement can cause a disqualification. Although a really good rider can fake a quick movement while staying in the lane causing the other rider to slow and lose the race.
That was just round one:
As mentioned earlier sprint tournaments involve many rounds to decide the winner. The reps or "Repechage" are the loser rounds that keep the race in a double elimination format. In the most common format of 24 qualifiers, 12 winners advance after one race, while the 12 losers square off to get 6 more winners to round 2. Round 2 will have 18 racers with 9 winners advancing and 9 losers doing a 3 up in the second rep round to get 3 more riders to the third round. Round 3 will have 12 riders with 6 winners advancing and the 6 losers again doing a 3 up to get 2 more into the quarters finals or round 4. The quarters are when it starts going best two of three and there is no longer a rep round for the losers. At this point a rider has done between 3 and 6 sprints depending on the number of rep rounds they had to go through.
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