Beijing's Velodrome Effect Hits Home

News Posted: 1 September 2008

In the short time since the end of the Beijing Olympics, British Cycling's facility officer Dave Cockram has recieved a remarkable number of enquiries about building velodromes in the UK. Following on from the record-breaking performances of the GB team on the Track, the sport of Track racing has never had a higher profile in the country. The Track World Cup in Manchester at the end of October sold out during the Games, underlining the popularity of the sport.

Right: Manchester's velodrome full for a Revolution meeting

Now it looks like a number of organisations and groupings are interested in buying into Track racing with serious plans for new Tracks. The velodrome building enquiries have included three that Dave has termed "serious, well thought-out and with genuine potential".

Coming from virtually the four corners of the country, the enquiries are obviously the first step on a long and often difficult road to launching a new facility. But with the new facility for the London Olympics coming on stream in 2012 and other Tracks in the pipeline, Track cycling's facility base looks set to grow significantly in the next few years.