Omnium
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An Omnium is a multiple race event in track cycling in which all contestants compete against each other in five different disciplines. The omnium can be considered the event which determines the best all-round track cyclist as the disciplines feature both sprint events and endurance events. The ultimate sprinter or the rider with the best condition is unlikely to win the omnium. The one that has the ability to combine and be competitive in both styles of disciplines is the rider who is most likely to win the event. Normally the omnium suits endurance riders with higher top speed or stronger sprints, or sprinters who can do longer distance track events.
The omnium consists of the following disciplines:
- A 200m flying start time trial (what the sprinters do to qualify for their heats, but times and points will be recorded).
- A 5km scratch race (or the number of laps closest to 5km).
- A 3km individual pursuit (2km for juniors) with the riders seeded on how they finished in the scratch race.
- A 15km points race with a minimum of five intermediate and the sixth final sprint.
- A 1km time trial (In the omnium, the riders ride off in pairs, pursuit-style).
Points are recorded in reverse order. The rider who finishes first in an event receives one point, the second rider will get two points and so on. The rider with the fewest points after all events is the omnium overall winner. When two riders are tied on points the recorded time of the time trials will make the difference between the riders. A rider needs to have ridden and completed every event in the omnium. When a rider fails to enter or finish one of the disciplines he or she is recorded as "Did not finish".
