Major Competitive Events
Olympic Games
Held every four years as part of the Summer Olympics. There are currently 10 events in the Olympics, fewer than appear in the World Championships. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, seven of these events were for men while only three were for women. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, there will be five events for both men and women.
UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Held every year, usually in March or April at the end of the winter track season. There are currently 19 events in the World Championships, 10 for men and 9 for women. Qualification places are determined by different countries performance during the World Cup Classic series held through the season.
UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics
The World Cup Classics series consists of four or five meetings, held in different countries throughout the world during the winter track cycling season. These meeting include 17 of the 19 events (excluding the omnium for men and women) that take place in a World Championship over three days.
Events won and points scored by the riders throughout this series count towards qualification places individually and for their nation in the World Championships at the end of the season. The overall leader in each event wears the white points leaders jersey at each race, with the overall winner at the end of the season keeping the jersey and wearing it at the World Championships. Riders compete for either national teams or trade teams.
As World Championship qualification is at stake, the events attract a top field of riders. However, it is common for top riders not to compete at all the events of the series, with teams often using the events to field younger riders or attempt different line-ups at some events. Top riders can still win the series, or obtain good a placing for qualification points for their country, without competing at every event.
National Series'
Several countries run a series of national level events held as part of series' throughout each of those countries and sometimes across country borders. Examples of these are the Revolution track series held in both the UK and Australia, and the ATRA NCS series in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Track Cycling
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