What happens after a false start, a puncture or a crash in a track race?
A · Advanced · Pursuits and starts · 1 of 2In the timed events a rider or team gets only two starts in a round. A restart is given for a false start or a recognised mishap, and a second one costs the rider the round. In bunch races a rider with a recognised mishap may sit out about 1,250 metres, five laps of a 250 metre track, without losing a lap.
How it works
- The start signal: a pistol shot from the starter in the track centre. A whistle in the sprint.
- Starting blocks: release the bike and start the clock together. A clock in front of the rider counts down the last 50 seconds.
- Stopping a race: a double pistol shot. The starter alone judges a false start.
- Two starts: "In each round of a standing start event, a team or a rider is only permitted two starts."
- A second false start or mishap: in qualifying the rider or team is eliminated. In the first round it is relegated. In a final it loses the final.
- Not recognised: a rider who stops for a mishap that the starter does not recognise is eliminated in qualifying or relegated later.
- Pursuits: a mishap in the first half-lap means an immediate restart. After that, in a final, the rider who suffers it is beaten.
- Bunch races: a rider with a recognised mishap is neutralised for the number of laps nearest to 1,250 metres and rejoins in the position held before.
- After that: the rider starts to lose laps.
- The last kilometre: a neutralised rider may not come back on to the track in it.
- Holding up the start: a rider who delays the start for a reason the starter does not accept may not start.
- Whole race stopped: each event has its own rule on whether it is rerun, resumed or left to stand.
The glossary has the false start and restart entry, the recognised mishap, neutralisation, the bell and gaining and losing a lap.
Tricky cases
What counts as a recognised mishap?
The list is a table in the regulations that the text copy did not carry. The sprint rules name a fall, a puncture and the breakage of an essential part of the bicycle.
A team false starts twice in qualifying for the team pursuit. What happens?
It is eliminated. Only two starts are permitted in a round.
A rider punctures in a points race. Do they lose the laps the bunch covers while the wheel is changed?
No, not for the first 1,250 metres or so. Beyond that they begin to lose laps until they are back in position.
A rider crashes with three laps to go in a bunch race and cannot get back on in time. Are they unplaced?
No, not in the events that use the general rule. They appear in the final placings on the points and laps they had before the mishap, unless that event's rules say otherwise.
Why the rule exists
Track bikes puncture and riders fall, and a rider should not lose a championship to a tyre. But every restart costs everyone else energy and time, so the rules give one second chance in the timed events and a fixed allowance in the bunch races, and no more.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standing start events | Two starts in a round | UCI 3.2.021 ter |
| Sprint | The starter may stop the race for a fall or puncture, and the panel decides whether to rerun it | UCI 3.2.048 |
| Keirin | A restart only for a mishap in the first half-lap | UCI 3.2.143 |
| Madison | No neutralisation. The team-mate takes over at once | UCI 3.2.169 |
| Elimination race | The whole race is neutralised for the affected riders | UCI 3.2.226 |
From the rule book
Union Cycliste Internationale, Cycling Regulations, Part 3: Track Races (amendments applying 1 January 2026), articles 3.2.016 to 3.2.021 ter, 3.2.048, 3.2.072 to 3.2.075, 3.2.099, 3.2.100, 3.2.143, 3.2.169 and 3.2.226. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: UCI Cycling Regulations, Part 3 (PDF).