A little history to set the scene:
>From the 20's and maybe before, the relieving of a rider was done by pushing
one's partner into the race by placing the hand on the left hip and
propelling him forward.
An inside pocket was eventually sewn into the left rear side of the riders
racing trunks, shorts and then reinforced by extra layers of fabric cross
stiched across the back side of the backside.
A "jamming tool" made of wrapped up paper, sock , rag was taped up and
inserted into this narrow sleeve pocket.
The rider would make up the tool to fit his hand and give the tool to his
partner to put into the partners pocket so that the riders could grab the
tool comfortably and confidently when in a hurry racing around at 35 miles
an hour while jamming. Many shorts had a white stripe over the pocket for
easy location.
As your partner on relief would see you coming he would swing down into the
lane above you, you would come by close, grab the jamming tool and push as
hard as needed depending on the race situation at the moment.
Hard in jams, easy when close in the field.
A touch was always needed however, to complete the relay. A lap loss could
be the penalty for a "wireless pickup".
The shorts had to be very strong to handle the push and shove so that they
shorts wouldn't rrrrip and reduce the bicycle race to a cheek to cheek
ballroom dancing contest.
As best I can remember, hand slings were always allowed even back in the
'30's but usually only during the jams when the field was separated and
riders were far enough apart to have room.
The race officials always told us what was allowed before the start of the
race.
Rmember also that many of the old tracks were much smaller and steeper so
that the room to maneuver was somewhat constricted.
The advent of the skin suits during the '70's and the new fabrics as well as
larger tracks made it easier to do handslings and it slowly became the norm.
Pockets were eliminated as fabrics became lighter.
Our old shorts were mostly wool and wool blends, very strong and now that
stuff is almost all gone by the wayside.
Interestingly enough, there are less spills now with handslings than before
with the hip shove.
When a team does a real smooth and close hip sling, the inside rider would
lean his bike to the left and "throw" his partner across his front wheel
slightly down the track banking for better acceleration.
If you misjudged and locked bars, touched knee on bar, or pulled to hard all
kinds of strange things could happen. It only hurts when you laugh.
The guys are giving themselves more room and even at higher speeds it's not
quite as tricky although it seems so at first glance to the uninitiated
whose nerves haven't been steeled to handle the the seemingly death defying
mayhem swirling maelstrom in front of them on the spaghetti bowl.
I think at first the officials thought that handslings were to dangerous for
amateurs, but that was quickly overcome and now even without a jamming tool
you see riders making just a soft touch when pace is regular and riders are
close. If you look close you will see riders making an exchange in the field
with their arm straight down along body and the partner coming alongside and
gently pushing the rider with hand/arm very close to body, sort of easy
stiff arm.
Hope this gives a little background, if something isn't clear enough in my
review, ask away , I'll do my best to clarify.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
> When did the madison change go from the push of Ted's time to the sling of
> today? Was it down to a change of rule or did it evolve over time. Maybe
> Ted could say if you could have the two methods in one race-without blood
> on the boards.
> Ray Green, Brighton, England
>
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