Beginner Vs Amateur Vs Olympic Champion | How Fast Are Pro Track Cyclists?

Riding the boards of a velodrome is a cycling experience different to any other. Fixed gear bikes, steep bankings and incredible speeds in close proximity to one another make track races some of the most exciting bike races to watch. But just how fast are Olympic trackies compared to us mere mortals?

We sent our very own Alex Paton to the Lee Valley Velodrome to meet up with a track cycling beginner, and multiple Olympic gold medallist Ed Clancy, for a race. Who will win? Nobody knows! (We all know).

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[gcn]

What did you think of the race? Let us know in the comments! 👇

[eyenoball]

Next challenge: Brother-in-law-Nigel VS Brother-in-law Elliot

[TheSamwhyte]

Alex, what happened old boy!? Only 7 seconds quicker than Elliot and he was even going up the banks!? 😳🙈😇 Looks like Ollie’s hour record is safe!

[CliffeDuffield]

Alex knows the times, but still has a "guess" at his result AND gets it wrong.

[mildpandemic]

Most of Ed's 78 kilos seem to be in his thighs.

[andreaskuckuck]

They averaged 41, 45 and 55 km/h from a standing start.
This is very impressive.

[ReillyMichael]

I feel that GCN put a overly higher value on their waterbottles

[MadeiraAirport]

4:18 that trophy at Alex window... I needed to watch 3 times to reckon that's a bike...

[LUCYDIAMONDBOXER]

My wife has booked me a Velodrome taster session in Manchester for my birthday....my first words were "Did you not see Connor on the GCN track day episode!" Connor has transferred the fear 😂

[alexjohnson]

Something tells me this was Alexs' attempt to establish a pecking order in the family tree to show his future brother-in-law who the Alpha is by destroying him in a public event. Probably did not go quite as well as intended. 🤣

[markowsley]

Around 1990 Olympian Carl Sundquist showed up on a single speed bike at our every Saturday morning group ride in the Ft Lauderdale area. While we were all killing ourselves he was nice and relaxed, having conversations. When he realized he was going to be late for an appointment he motored off and dropped us like we standing still. It was a very humbling experience. I have to say that he was also a heck of a nice guy. More than willing to talk to us before the ride about his experiences in the Olympics.

[liamkaloy]

if Eliot would race on the bottom of the track he would be very close to Alex, maybe even he would beat him

[lbco]

Alex being an ex-pro road cyclist is not quite what I’d consider ‘amateur.’

[jodim]

Alex should be the beginner, and Manon as the amateur

[natillano]

Alex: Are you ready?
Eli: Not really
Alex: Fantastic!

[galenkehler]

Congrats to Ed on taking home the best prize of his career, we've often said that's the one glaring hole in what is otherwise a great palmarès 🥇

[stewarthinsley]

Great video again 👌 the beginner was nearly not a beginner, good time fella.

Would like to see you guys take on hardknott with a weight jacket that takes you up 100kg and see how you rate up against a rider of that weight. Based on a 100kg rider having to ride with this weight all the time, would be interesting to see if you GCN guys and girls can adapt to that weight on the big climbs 😄👍

[ajl]

These guys have no idea how absolutely insane a 1:05 is! Especially on that bike

[Mububban]

The first time you ride a velodrome, it’s hard to overstate how intimidating the angle of the banking at each end is 😳

[ChrisGuarraia]

Would love to see the same challenge with an aero bike. Then maybe redone after 4-6 weeks of track-specific workouts to see how all three improved.