Cyclists will rip around the Velodrome at Marymoor Grand Prix on Friday and Saturday

Some of the fastest track cyclists in North America are headed to the Velodrome at Marymoor Park for two days of all-out racing as part of the 2013 Marymoor Grand Prix on July 19-20.

Some of the fastest track cyclists in North America are headed to the Velodrome at Marymoor Park for two days of all-out racing as part of the 2013 Marymoor Grand Prix on July 19-20.

Racing begins at 7 p.m. on both nights, with qualifying races starting at 1 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

As one of the premier race on this year’s USA Cycling National Track Calendar, the Marymoor Grand Prix will feature several current national champions, as well as former and future Olympians, who will be competing on fixed gear bikes with no brakes and at speeds of up to 40 mph. Special guests this year include Sarah Hammer, a double silver medalist at the London Olympic Games, six-time world champion and reigning world champion in the six-event “all around” Omnium. Guests also include two-time Olympians Jame Carney and Giddeon Massie, and several Olympic hopefuls, including Portland native Kevin Mansker and Sammamish native Tela Crane.

Admission to the event is $5 per person; kids 16 and under are free. There will be a “Kiddie Kilo” both nights and children are encouraged to bring their bikes and helmets to participate. A beer garden sponsored by Mac and Jacks Ale will be open from 6:30-10:30 p.m. both evenings. Food is available from vendors in the park, or spectators can bring their own picnics.

Both nights will feature up to 16 separate races with anywhere from two to 40 high-speed bike racers on the track competing for their share of the $12,000 cash purse.

Races each night will include the “Keirin” — a high-speed motorcycle-paced race ending in a one-lap, no-holds-barred, dash for the finish line; “the Madison” — a crazy tag team race with up to 20 teams of two literally slinging each other into the action; and the always popular “Marymoor Crawl” — a novelty race forcing riders into a three- or four-minute “track stand” followed by a wild one-lap all-out sprint.

To learn more, visit the Velodrome website.