MattTuck
03-01-2017, 07:26 PM
New venture from Velon. I'm excited to see how exciting the racing is. I think it has the potential to be pretty entertaining. Certainly more interesting than a 150km flat stage in the TDF. :D
Instead of a traditional stage race format, the Hammer series focuses on the strength and success of teams. There are no individual winners with results based on rider placings as a team.
The teams will race in three different events on different days: the Hammer Sprint, the Hammer Climb and the Hammer Chase, each held on an 8-10km circuit to enable the public to see the action multiple times. Each race will be no longer than two hours and be broadcast on television, with the Friday and Saturday racing late in the early evening to attract a bigger TV audience.
The new format sees teams select five riders from a seven-rider squad for each race. The Sprint race covers a flat circuit, the Climb heads into the hills, while the Chase follows a handicap format, where the leading team after the first two days starts first, with the other teams setting off at different time intervals based on their results from the Sprint and Chase race.
The ultimate winner of the race is determined by the first team over the line. Time gaps between teams will be based on fixed time gaps per position and bonus time gained during the races. In team pursuit style, the team whose fourth rider’s front wheel crosses the line first in the Hammer Chase is the race winner, earning points towards the overall Hammer Series.
Velon goes as far as suggesting that ‘The overall winner at the end of the Hammer Series earns the ultimate bragging rights as the best team in the world!’
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/velon-and-infront-launch-radical-new-hammer-series-race/
https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/teams-velon-organisation-unveil-innovative-hammer-series-racing/
Instead of a traditional stage race format, the Hammer series focuses on the strength and success of teams. There are no individual winners with results based on rider placings as a team.
The teams will race in three different events on different days: the Hammer Sprint, the Hammer Climb and the Hammer Chase, each held on an 8-10km circuit to enable the public to see the action multiple times. Each race will be no longer than two hours and be broadcast on television, with the Friday and Saturday racing late in the early evening to attract a bigger TV audience.
The new format sees teams select five riders from a seven-rider squad for each race. The Sprint race covers a flat circuit, the Climb heads into the hills, while the Chase follows a handicap format, where the leading team after the first two days starts first, with the other teams setting off at different time intervals based on their results from the Sprint and Chase race.
The ultimate winner of the race is determined by the first team over the line. Time gaps between teams will be based on fixed time gaps per position and bonus time gained during the races. In team pursuit style, the team whose fourth rider’s front wheel crosses the line first in the Hammer Chase is the race winner, earning points towards the overall Hammer Series.
Velon goes as far as suggesting that ‘The overall winner at the end of the Hammer Series earns the ultimate bragging rights as the best team in the world!’
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/velon-and-infront-launch-radical-new-hammer-series-race/
https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/teams-velon-organisation-unveil-innovative-hammer-series-racing/