TEN QUESTIONS WITH KEVIN WORLEY
1. How did you get started riding
at the track? In 1991, after racing triathlons,
then road races and finally kind
of finding my niche doing crits,
my friend and competitor Peter Tapscott
and I thought we'd give the track
a try. My comfort zone on the bike
had increased to the point that I
no longer thought trackies were crazy
and that someone like me with a bit
of speed and only mediocre climbing
ability might do ok on the track.
I forget who exactly suggested it,
but Pete and I went down together
and the rest is history. I cobbled
together an old road bike frame as
my first track bike and raced that
first year on it with pretty good
results. I had my first State (Districts
back then) Championships podium appearances
that first year - three second places
and one third. One guess who beat
me in every race that year - Peter! 2. You've been on the podium at both nationals and worlds (and a past national champion). Where is the best place you've raced? (Aside from Hellyer) That's a tough one. There are a
lot of cool tracks around - each
with it's own personality. Manchester
is a fabulous facility with showers
and a restaurant. Alpenrose is one
of the most fun tracks to ride. If
had to choose though, after Hellyer,
it'd probably be Colorado Springs.
Great track to ride. The altitude
is good for big speed, and the nearby
mountains are spectacular! 3. The sprint tournaments will occur
on March 7, April 25, May 8, June
20 and July 18. I know what a fun
way it is to spend a Sunday afternoon,
but why should everyone come try
match sprinting? 4. I'm a new racer to the track and have maybe done a Tuesday night or a Get Ready for Summer race. Will I have to race those really fast guys in a sprint tournament? Nope. Over the years the sprint tournaments have morphed more into a way of slowly coaxing riders through the learning and training process than a real "tournament". The racing is real and the competition is real, but it's designed so that you get a chance to race against riders that are nearly the same speed. Everyone does a 200 meter time trial to start. A traditional sprint tourney is set up like a tennis tournament in that the 200 meter is a seeding event. Based on times, only a certain number of riders are even allowed in the tournament. Nationals, for instance, usually will only have 12 riders make the tournament - out of maybe 25 to 30 starters doing the 200. Then the fastest rider races the slowest of the 12. Number two races number 11 and so on. It's designed so that the two fastest riders have the best chance of racing each other in the finals. That works great for championship races and everyone should practice the event, but our tournaments are designed to let everyone race, and that requires a little different approach. After the 200's we break the larger group into groups of 6 riders - all based on 200 meter times. From that point each group of six riders race among themselves, doing three 2 up races (two riders in each race) and one three up. That way, every rider gets four races against riders of similar speeds. It gives everyone the chance to work on tactics as well as just pure speed. Mark Rodamaker suggested the format several years ago and it's worked very well - thanks Mark We may run more traditional tourneys
later in the season, but we'll break
those into two or more separate tournaments
and again the riders will race folks
of similar speed and experience. 5. Another new racer here with a question: The riders go really, really slow. It almost seems as if they are going to stop on the track. Won't the bike fall over? Why do they do that? The very slow, cat and mouse game, keeping the race short with a big acceleration over the last 200 meters is a way of trying to set your opponent up by forcing them to go to the front and leading you out. Track stands - stopping the bike and balancing - were an art form, so much that the UCI created new track stand rules to keep riders from jumping the bikes or backing them up. The irony is that we're now seeing
less and less of that style of match
sprinting. Especially at the international
level, the top riders are going so
fast that the speed starts much earlier
and the races are top end much longer.
I suspect at least part of this change
is due to the fact that the best
sprinters are also the best kilo
and kierin riders, so they have the
endurance to go fast longer. 6. Wrestling, triathlon, cycling..you've done a lot! You are mostly retired from racing now, correct? Do you still ride for fun? What else do you do to stay active? Yeah, I've "retired" several times over my racing years, so again never say never, but I haven't raced since 2006 and probably won't again at the level I did when I won my national championships. I have a huge respect for riders like Larry Nolan and Mark Rodamaker that race at a very high level year after year, 'cause I can't do that. I do still ride on a pretty regular
basis. Anne and I have a tandem that
we love to tool around on. I just
moved to the Evergreen area of San
Jose, so even though I won't be racing "seriously",
the track is now only ten minutes
from home. I can't not go over and
ride! 7. You and your wife Anne are musicians.
Where can we find you guys performing? 8. What musical instruments do you
play? 9. Which decade had better music?
The 60s, the 70s or the 80s? 10. The Beatles or the Rolling Stones? |