Icetrack cycling

Icetrack cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on 400m speed skating ice ovals. However, any ice sheet can be used, including ice hockey rinks and frozen lakes, etc.

The sport of cycling on ice is probably as old as the sport of cycling and icetrack cycling has many similarities to track cycling. There are many examples of bikes that have been built or adapted to cope with the hard and slippery surface of ice. Usually practiced in places where a winter freeze turns lakes into inviting sheets of ice, annual events attract all types of ice bikes and competitors. Various ice rinks also host (annual) events. In the Netherlands, icetrack cycling is developing rapidly due to the availability of standard ice bikes, making the sport more accessible. The term icetrack is specifically used for cycling on ice suitable for skating on (i.e. not on snow or rough ice).

Many types of bike have been tried over the years. The current standard bikes use one drive wheel at the back, a steering skate at the front and a cornering skate out to the right.

The drive wheel is a 20" bicycle wheel with derailleur gears. Various tyres can be selected to suit the ice surface. Spikes are not used on a 400m ice oval.

The steering skate is ground to a profile which ensures the bike turns when the skate is turned - the skate being attached to handelbars operated by the user.

The cornering skate provides the force needed to get the bike round the left hand corners at either end of the ice oval.

The user sits in a recumbent position to ensure a low centre of gravity on the slippery ice.

Icetrack cycling events fit into two broad categories: timed/individual races and multiple bike races.

Timed races use the same format as speed skating events. Various distances between 500 m and 10,000 m are completed against the clock, with a maximum of two competitors on the ice at any one time. Many ice ovals include a wire loop embedded in the ice along the finish line which can detect the passing of a transponder attached to the competitor, thus providing automated timing (often linked to the internet).

Multiple bike races of up to 20 bikes use a standing start from a grid with races held over 3, 5 or 9 laps. The position on the start grid is decided based on a timed qualifying flying lap.

...
Wikipedia