Madison Practice at Marymoor Velodrome!

Yesterday was our Madison practice! Or "racing on fast forward" as Adrian called it.

I was nervous about doing the slings but the class guided us through the technique very methodically. First we practiced on the grass with our partners. We used the "double-hook-sling" hand hold method instead of a tight grip. Each partner hooked their hands and connected at the glove. This was less intimidating since you knew you could get out of it if needed. Mark described it like "a fighter jet landing on an aircraft carrier, grabbing the arrestor wire with the tailhook".

We then rode around the apron practicing the hand hold with little surges. Then we progressed to the track, first at moderate speed and then faster. At the end they pulled out the moto and did a paceline. I still have to master all of the traffic so I wasn't ready to jump on the moto yet. I think with a few more practices I will be ready to race.

There are lots of weird considerations in the Madison, and it turns upside down your concept of racing. The faster the race is, the slower you go on relief. But you are never really on relief because you have to set up for the next exchange. Also, gearing is ridiculously low. Like, the professional 6-dayers might use an 89" gear, averaging 60kpm, and sprinting at 70kph. Scoring is done old-style: first by laps, then sprint points. Each track has its own rules including Marymoor. There are lots of tricks that will give you better wheel position, and they are non-intuitive. The Madison is essentially a continuous relay and the sling is just a part of it.

The long term goal is to make Madison racing a regular feature at MV. It is very big in Europe, and fast gaining popularity in the states. The first step is to increase the number of people that are proficient in this event. So, this is a chance to get in on The Beginning.

Here is a video compilation of some of the practice slings: