One Olympics sport each day--cycling
Bicycles were first developed in the mid-18th century and have long since been used as a form of transport. Originally, the front wheel was much larger than the rear wheel, and the rider was elevated a great deal, making them difficult to control and very dangerous. In 1885, J.K. Starley of England devised the more modern bike with a chain and gearing to allow the wheels to be of equal size. Although bicycle races had been held on the old "penny farthings", the new bikes stimulated the growth of bicycle racing as a sport. Cycling at the Olympics features three exciting disciplines: road, track and mountain biking.
Cycling Road
Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick McMillan gave bicycle racing its first big boost back in 1839 when he devised a pedal-and-crank mechanism to power the two-wheeled machines. Until then, bicycles were pushed along by the feet. It rather limited their racing potential.
In the 1880s, cycling took another leap forward with the development of the chain-and-gearing system. With that, bikes evolved from the awkward penny-farthing style to the sleeker shape so familiar today. Since then, the sport's evolution has been a steady climb as athletes and engineers experiment with anything that might shave a few seconds off their times.
The sport's boom in the late 19th century made it a natural for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. That inaugural Olympic road race was held on the marathon course, with riders completing two laps covering a total of 87 kilometres. Almost a century passed before women got their chance to race in 1984, and, 12 years later, at the 1996 Atlanta Games, time trials were introduced.
Cycling Track
Road racing and mountain biking relate easily to the average rider's view of cycling. Track cycling does not.
In track cycling, the riders go nowhere, just around and around an oval track banked at 42 degrees. The track's name - the velodrome - sounds space-age, and the helmets, suits and bikes bearing no resemblance to a common two-wheeler more closely resemble something out of Star Wars.
Those idiosyncrasies grew out of years of refinement, though. All were aimed at helping man push bicycles faster and faster.
The aerodynamic "funny bikes" of today offer greater speed than ever, despite their poorer manoeuvrability that leaves them ill-suited to pack racing.
Bicycles were first developed in the mid-18th century and have long since been used as a form of transport. Originally, the front wheel was much larger than the rear wheel, and the rider was elevated a great deal, making them difficult to control and very dangerous. In 1885, J.K. Starley of England devised the more modern bike with a chain and gearing to allow the wheels to be of equal size. Although bicycle races had been held on the old "penny farthings", the new bikes stimulated the growth of bicycle racing as a sport. Cycling at the Olympics features three exciting disciplines: road, track and mountain biking.
Cycling Road
Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick McMillan gave bicycle racing its first big boost back in 1839 when he devised a pedal-and-crank mechanism to power the two-wheeled machines. Until then, bicycles were pushed along by the feet. It rather limited their racing potential.
In the 1880s, cycling took another leap forward with the development of the chain-and-gearing system. With that, bikes evolved from the awkward penny-farthing style to the sleeker shape so familiar today. Since then, the sport's evolution has been a steady climb as athletes and engineers experiment with anything that might shave a few seconds off their times.
The sport's boom in the late 19th century made it a natural for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. That inaugural Olympic road race was held on the marathon course, with riders completing two laps covering a total of 87 kilometres. Almost a century passed before women got their chance to race in 1984, and, 12 years later, at the 1996 Atlanta Games, time trials were introduced.
Cycling Track
Road racing and mountain biking relate easily to the average rider's view of cycling. Track cycling does not.
In track cycling, the riders go nowhere, just around and around an oval track banked at 42 degrees. The track's name - the velodrome - sounds space-age, and the helmets, suits and bikes bearing no resemblance to a common two-wheeler more closely resemble something out of Star Wars.
Those idiosyncrasies grew out of years of refinement, though. All were aimed at helping man push bicycles faster and faster.
The aerodynamic "funny bikes" of today offer greater speed than ever, despite their poorer manoeuvrability that leaves them ill-suited to pack racing.
