The Milton Ontario Velodrome has 42 degree bankings on the corners but is flatter in the straights (12 degrees?) - with the flattest part in the middle of the straight.
The blue stayers line is a constant distance from the black line so it is higher in the corners. I’ve assumed the op was talking about the stayers line and not the cote d’azur when talking about the blue line?
I assume it’s designed this way to balance out the centre of gravity effect when leaning over at high speeds but in a recovery pace line it’s the elevation changes you feel.
Either way the power numbers from the pedals is fine.
Interesting article - i’ll have to give it a proper read - the maths seems to go a little past “secondary school level” though! I like that after all that work they found that the elite athletes were on the theoretical optimum line for the flying lap - I assume the athletes came to their conclusion via lots of trail and error.
Its definitely both! The Brachistochrone paper looks interesting for finding the ideal “drop-in” line for a flying 200m TT, but doesn’t have anything to do with steady-state riding.
If you are riding at 20mph at the blue stayers line (half way up the track), your bike stays pretty much vertical, and the most significant effect is the altitude you gain in each turn as @kevistraining described. So you go slower in the turns and faster in the straights. A lot of paceline training happens at the stayers line. If you ride with experienced trackies, you will notice they tend to run a little bit above the line in the straight, and a little below it in the turn to mitigate this effect.
If you are riding at 30mph at the black measurement line, the line is level, but you are cranked over at 45 degrees in the turns, meaning that a) your center of gravity is lower mid turn than it is in the straights, and b) your wheels are actually traveling further than your center of gravity around the turn. So you go faster in the turns and slower in the straights like @old_but_not_dead_yet said.
