Commonwealth Games Primer: Cycling

Cycling is an optional sport for the Commonwealth Games, but it's proven very popular with organizers -- this is the 19th straight time it will appear on the program.

Fans of the sport will also be happy to see three disciplines — mountain, road and track — included in Glasgow after Delhi 2010 organizers omitted the men's and women's mountain races.

Competition in Scotland will consist of those two events, plus four road events (a mass start and a time trial for both men and women) and 18 track events (10 for men and eight for women, including four para-sport competitions).

Track races will be held at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome — an indoor 250-metre oval track with steeply banked ends that's named after the Scotsman with six Olympic titles, more than any other British athlete.

The road events hit the streets of Glasgow, and the mountain races will be held at Cathkin Braes Country Park.

A quick look at the different types of track races:

• Individual pursuit: An endurance event in which two riders start on opposite sides of the track. In qualifying, the fastest overall times advance; in knockout rounds, the winner of each matchup advances. If a rider overtakes his opponent, he automatically moves on.
• Time trial: A sprint event in which riders compete solo to post the fastest time. The men's distance is 1000 metres (four laps), while the women's is 500m.
• Points race: A mass-start endurance event held over a long distance (40km for men, 25 for women) in which a sprint is held every 10 laps, with points going to the top four finishers each time (5, 3, 2, 1). Lapping the main field is worth a big 20 points. Most points at the end of the race wins.
• Keirin: A Japanese-invented mass-start sprint in which riders follow a pace bike until it peels off the track and they sprint for the finish. The top riders advance to the next round.
• Sprint: Two riders start next to each other. First to the finish line advances.
• Team pursuit: Similar to the individual pursuit, except with teams of four riders. The team with the fastest No. 3 rider wins, so depth matters.
• Scratch race: A mass-start (everyone begins from scratch, hence the name) endurance event with a very simple format: first to the finish wins. 
• Team sprint: Like the team pursuit, except with teams of three for men and two for women. At the end of the fist lap, the lead rider peels off. Ditto for the second, leaving the third rider to complete the final lap on his own. Fastest time wins.

Canadians to watch

Cycling Canada has assembled a team that it calls "a mix of established performers and young up-and-comers" and has set a goal of winning 10 medals. That would double its output from Delhi 2010.

Some of the top contenders:

Catharine Pendrel (mountain)

As the winner of the 2011 world title and a pre-Olympics test event, Pendrel went into the 2012 London Games as the favourite to win gold. She also had plenty of backing from Canadians, who voted her the surprise winner of a CBC Sports contest to determine which athlete they wanted as their flag bearer. But on race day Pendrel just "didn't have it," as she said in an emotional television interview after labouring to a ninth-place finish. The 33-year-old from Kamloops, B.C., will look for a measure of redemption as she returns to Britain.

Jasmin Glaesser (track)

The 2012 Olympic bronze medallist in the women's team pursuit won't be able to reach the Glasgow podium in that event because it's not on the program. But Cycling Canada hopes the Coquitlam, B.C., rider can contend in the scratch race, individual pursuit and points race.

Zach Bell (track and road)

The versatile 31-year-old from Watson Lake, Yukon, is a two-time world silver medallist in the omnium event on the track, where he's expected to contend for a medal as part of the team pursuit squad. Cycling Canada also thinks he has a shot at a road-race medal in Glasgow, where the course features several short climbs said to be right up his alley.