A guide to all the events at the world track cycling championships which get underway in Manchester on Wednesday.

Individual Sprint:

Two riders compete over three laps in a series of knockout races. Riders try to avoid showing their cards too early so the opening lap often takes place at a snail's pace as they try to psyche each other out. On the final lap riders look to steal a march on their opponent as they blast away for a furious sprint finish.

Time trial:

A solo event against the clock held over 1 km for men and 500m for women. Success hinges on a combination of smooth riding, lung-bursting stamina and strength. No room for error as medals will almost certainly be decided by tenths or even hundredths of a second.

Individual Pursuit (Men 4km, Women 3km):

Two riders start from opposite sides of the track with the objective of catching your opponent. If that does not occur, then the rider covering the distance quickest wins.

Team Pursuit (Men 4km, Women 3km):

Two four-man teams start on opposite sides of the track. Like the Individual Pursuit the aim is to catch the opposition team or complete the race in the fastest time. Each rider takes it in turn to lead for half or, if they are up to it, a full lap.

Team Sprint:

Men: two teams of three riders compete over three laps. Women: two teams of two riders compete over two laps. The two teams start on opposite sides of the track. Each rider leads at the front for a lap before pulling up on to the banking. The last rider must have the greatest stamina and strength.

Points Race:

A solo event held over 40km (160 laps) for men and 25km (100 laps) for women with sprints for additional points every 10 laps. If a rider can lap the field then they win the race. If more than one rider manages to gain a lap then points will decide the winner.

Keirin (Men and women over 2km):

Originated in Japan where it became very popular as a betting sport. Six riders follow in the slip-stream of a pace-setting motorbike, or "derny", which accelerates to a speed of up to 50km/hr (40km/hr for women) before pulling off the track with two-and-a-half laps to go leaving the riders to battle it out in a sprint to the finish.

Scratch (Men: 15km. Women: 10km):

A straight race over the distance.

Madison (Men only):

Teams of two riders battle it out in a relay race held over 50 km (200 laps). After a mass start, only one rider from each team competes in the race at any one time while his partner slowly circles at the top of the track. One member of the team takes over from the other with the help of a hand-sling by which the faster rider tries to transfer his momentum on to his partner. There are sprints for points every 20 laps, but the main aim is to gain a lap on your opponents.

Omnium (Men only):

A gruelling test of all round skills in five different disciplines held over the course of a day. Sprint, 5km scratch, 3km Individual pursuit, 15km points race and one kilometre time trial. Points added up depending on placing in each event. The rider with the lowest points score wins.

You can follow the event LIVE on Eurosport all week and also enjoy LIVE streaming here on eurosport.yahoo.co.uk. Eurosport is available on Sky 410 and Virgin Media 521; Eurosport 2 is available on Sky 411 and Virgin Media 525.

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