MATTHEW KVAMME

I'm a 23-year-old full-time professional athlete and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Puyallup, Washington, an hour south of Seattle. I've always loved bikes and chose to devote my young adult life to racing them.

I'm 23 years old.

I currently live in Torrance, California and train at the Carson Velodrome. I'm originally from Seattle, Washington but moved to California in the spring of 2025.

When I'm not training (and even between hard efforts), I run an NFC and QR platform startup called TacTile. The flexibility of both these crazy endeavors lets me devote a substantial amount of time to each — giving me the opportunity to grow both my athletic career and TacTile. Normally sitting behind a computer all day and night would sound draining, but with the heavy physical demands of my training, it's just what I need.

Bike racing on a banked oval — usually wood (indoor) or concrete (outdoor) — using fixed-gear bikes with no brakes and no shifting. Endurance events on one side, sprint events on the other. Matthew is a sprinter.

The banking lets riders carry speed through the corners without slowing down. The faster you go, the higher up the banking you can ride — the bank does the work of keeping you on the track.

Track bikes are fixed-gear: the rear cog is locked to the rear wheel, so the pedals are always moving when the bike is moving. No freewheel. No brakes — slowing down means resisting your pedal stroke. One fixed gear ratio per race.

On the Olympic schedule there are six distinct track cycling events. I specialize in team and individual sprint.

Team sprint — Three riders, three laps. One rider drops off after each lap, leaving the final rider to finish alone. Pure power and explosive starts.

Individual sprint (match sprint) — Two riders go head-to-head over three laps. The first part is a tactical chess match; the last 200 meters is flat-out speed.

Keirin — Six to nine riders ride behind a motorized pacer that gradually accelerates, then peels off, leaving the field to sprint to the finish. Originated in Japan as a betting sport.

Team pursuit — Two teams of four start on opposite sides of the track and chase each other over 4 km. Whoever catches the other team first wins; otherwise the fastest time decides.

Omnium — A multi-event endurance competition over a single day: scratch race, tempo race, elimination race, and points race, scored together.

Madison — Two riders per team take turns racing while the other rests, exchanging the racing position via a hand sling. Sprint laps score points throughout.

I specialize in individual sprint (also known as a match sprint) and team sprint.

Crashes happen — high speed, hard surface, close quarters. But velodromes are also among the most controlled racing environments in cycling: no cars, no potholes, no weather indoors. Most racing days are clean.

I train roughly 30 hours over 6 days, with one rest day per week. My training includes time at the velodrome, weight lifting, mobility, and sauna sessions. Since I get long rests between hard efforts, I'm able to bring my laptop to the track or gym and squeeze some good work in for TacTile.

My coach is BJ Olson, who owns Performance Coaching Company in Los Angeles, specializing in world-class track sprinting and weight lifting.

Track sprinting requires a very large amount of weight training. On most weeks I spend more time in the weight room than on the bike, building speed and muscular resilience more than just raw strength. I haven't done an arm day in over two years! #neverskiplegday. I'm also working to develop a match-sprint tactics program that doesn't currently exist in the US.

Though I really enjoy road and mountain biking, I'm devoting all my time and effort to track cycling to see how far I can go with it.

I currently ride a Look Madison. USA Cycling has a partnership with Look Bikes, and the future setup — when funds allow — is a Look T20, which is much stiffer and more aerodynamic. Track bikes only have one gear and no brakes!

Track cycling equipment is very niche and specialized, so you don't have the benefits of economies of scale. The difference between first and second place could be a millisecond. The type of wax you use on your chain or the stiffness of your frame could be what wins you the race. Every part on the bike is meticulously chosen, tested, and iterated on throughout the season.

It's all about aerodynamics. In track cycling, roughly 80–90% of all resistance is created by air. An incredible amount of effort goes into proper equipment and positioning to minimize aerodynamic drag.

The USA sprint team has partnerships with some companies that make certain gear more accessible. Beyond that, equipment choice depends on a lot of factors — different tires depending on the track surface, aerodynamic kit specifically tested and tuned for my body shape, and different wheels depending on the type of race.

There are several ways you can help, and I'm grateful for any amount of support! I've made a wishlist if you'd like to purchase a piece of kit or equipment, or you can donate to my general fund. If you have something else in mind or another way you'd like to help, I'd love to hear from you.

In the US, track cycling and other sports with a primarily Olympic focus don't receive much funding. Even being the best in the world wouldn't change that significantly. Outside support is how American track sprinters compete on the world stage.

Right now I don't race for any sponsors. Part of my development program is high training volume rather than a full race calendar.