What is track rACING?
Bicycle track racing first became popular in the US in the 1900’s. In fact, in the 1920’s, indoor track racing had become one of the nation’s most popular spectator sports, drawing huge crowds and filling stadiums the size of Madison Square Garden. Then along came the motor car… During the late 1930’s and early 40’s, track racing declined as a spectator sport due to the wide availability of the automobile and the thrills of watching motor racing. Many of the hundreds of bicycle racing tracks in the US were torn down or left to disrepair during this period and track racing was forgotten about. Fortunately, public interest in cycling was revived in the late 1950’s and early ’60’s. Tracks were rebuilt and bicycling became popular again. Though not as prolific as before, there are a handful of velodromes in use today and the sport continues to grow in popularity.
