Attack: A sudden acceleration to elude other riders

Barspin: A BMX freestyle trick. While in the air, the rider leans backward, one hand is removed from the bars, the other hand spins the bars, then the rider catches the bars and rides away.

Berm: In mountain biking, an artificially created bank that allows a corner to be taken at an exaggerated angle and therefore at higher speeds

Blocking: Getting in the way of other riders, usually to prevent them from chasing a teammate

BMX: Abbreviation for bicycle motocross

Bonk-bags: A musette/satchel to carry food to fight tiredness

Break, breakaway: A rider or group of riders that escapes the main pack

Bridge: To escape one group of riders and join another group ahead

Bunny hop: An advantage technique that involves a mountain biker lifting both wheels off the ground by crouching and then springing up with the bike. A bunny hop enables a rider to clear obstacles such as holes in the ground and fallen branches.

Case pad: The larger landing area, so riders have something to land on in case they come up short

Cadence: The number of times the pedals revolve in a minute

Chase group/Chasers: Riders trying to catch a breakaway

Derailleur: Mechanism that moves the chain from one gear to another

Derny: An electric bike that sets the pace in the keirin event

Disk wheel: A solid wheel with aerodynamic qualities, usually used in time trials

Domestique: A team rider who will sacrifice his own results for those of a designated teammate

Double: Jump featuring two humps

Drafting: Riding in the slipstream created by another rider or riders, enabling the rider to ride faster with less effort. Also called sitting in.

Drop-off: An obstacle in mountain biking where the trail drops vertically. It may only be a few inches or considerably more. Drop-offs differ from jumps in that the riders gain no height in negotiating them, but literally drop off to the lower level.

Echelon: A staggered line of riders, each downwind of the rider immediately ahead. An echelon can move considerably faster than a solo rider or a small group of riders.

Feed zone: A designated area along the race course where support crews may hand food and drink to competitors

Field sprint: A sprint to the finish by the main group of riders

Flyer: A surprise attack, usually done alone

Forcing the pace: When a rider or team rides harder than the pack

Free-wheel: A sprocket that drives the rear wheel, but that also can run free without the pedals being turned

Full-suspension: Mountain bikes with suspension at both the front and rear wheels

Gate: Platform area with a hinged gate at the start of a BMX race

Granny gear: The lowest gear on a mountain bike, used on long, steep climbs

Holeshot: In BMX racing, the rider who gets off to the best start got the "holeshot"

Honk: To ride off the saddle, standing on the pedals to gain more power

Jump: A sudden sprint in an attempt to break away from the main part of the field

Kink: Where the first part of the ramp and the second part meet, about 18 feet from the start gate

Leadout: A sacrificial tactic in which one rider sprints with a teammate in tow, providing the initial acceleration for the teammate's sprint

Lip: The top of the jump

Main event/Main: Another name for the final of a BMX race

Massed-start racing: A race where all riders start at the same time

Moto: A single racing heat in BMX racing

Paceline: A line of riders who share turns in the lead position

Peloton: The main group of riders, also known as the pack, bunch or field

Pole line: The innermost line on a velodrome surface, used to measure the length of the track

Pull: To take a turn at the front of the group, maintaining the same speed of the group

Ramp: The starting hill

Repechage: A heat added to a race that has the sole purpose of allowing losers from an earlier round another chance to reach the next stage of the competition

Rhythm Section: A series of jumps or rollers back-to-back on a track that pose as an obstacle

Rock garden: A patch of rocks placed in a part of a mountain bike course to make it more technically challenging

Roller: An obstacle on a track that is rolled over as opposed to being jumped

Saddle: The seat on a bicycle

Scratch races: Track races where all competitors start on equal terms

Singletrack: In mountain biking, a path or trail wide enough for only one rider at a time

Sit in: To stay in the pack to avoid setting the pace of a race

Slipstream: The area of least wind resistance behind a rider

Sprinters' line: A line marked distinctively in red, placed 35 inches from the inside of the track; sometimes referred to as the safety line

Staging area: The area where the BMX riders gather or are placed in chutes for loading into the gate

Suspension fork: Innovation where the front fork is sprung like a motorcycle so as to absorb trail bumps

Tailwhip: A BMX freestyle trick in which the frame of the bike performs a complete rotation around the front end, which remains stationary throughout the move

Trackstand: Balancing in place on the track. Usually happens in the sprint when a rider tries to force his or her opponent to take the lead.

Transition: The part of the track where the start hill meets the flat round

Triple: A jump with three humps

UCI: The acronym for Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body of cycling

Up the banking: The position near the top of the corner banking where the sprinter is able to develop an attack

Velodrome: A bicycle racing track with banked turns and flat straightaways

Waterbar: A sharp-sided trench that criss-crosses a mountain bike descent

Wind-out: A sprint that develops from a gradual acceleration. A wind-out is usually initiated with more than a lap to go.