2012 Velodrome Open For Business
The velodrome that will host the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics cycling has been officially opened at the Olympic Park site.
The 6,000 seater venue will hold the cycling and BMX events for the Olympics and is the first venue to be completed at the Olympic Park.
The velodrome is also expected to come in on budget, at around £93m.
Sir Chris Hoy helped with the design and said: ‘The new velodrome is going to be the best in the world. I can’t wait until I can compete on it, all of the Union Jacks will be out and, hopefully, the noise and the atmosphere will give us an advantage, maybe put the fear of death into the other countries, too.’
26 carpenters worked on the installation of the Siberian pine track and more than 350,000 nails were used on the 56km of timber surface.
Organisers have also claimed it will be the fastest cycling track in the world thanks to a range of tailored features such as the track geometry and the temperature and environmental conditions.
Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympics described the VeloPark as: ‘a stunning venue built for champions’.
The Olympic Delivery Authority started construction work on the velodrome in March 2009.
