Last week the LHCb Running Team, VELOcity, won the first place in its category (senior) during the traditional CERN Relay Race.
Contrary to statements of other competitors, based on the team’s name, the LHCb team was not using bicycles to win the race. The VELO is the name of the LHCb VErtex LOcator, the precise silicon detector located around the proton-proton collision point. The detector has been “running” successfully since the LHC start up. Its winning formula of precision measurements and proximity to the beam line allows it to locate the point (vertex) precisely where the beauty particles decay, as seen in many images on this page. Today’s race has shown that not only the VELO detector is on track to chase down more physics, but the VELO team is the fastest going.
click the image to see better the winner’s smiling faces