Manchester Velodrome

Manchester Velodrome
Location	Stuart Street Manchester England M11 4DQ
Coordinates	53°29′08″N 2°11′30″W / 53.48556°N 2.19167°W / 53.48556; -2.19167Coordinates: 53°29′08″N 2°11′30″W / 53.48556°N 2.19167°W / 53.48556; -2.19167
Opened	September 1994
Owner	City of Manchester
Architect	Populous (formerly HOK Sport)
Capacity	3,500
Website	manchestervelodrome.com

Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track or velodrome in Manchester, northwest England. It opened in September 1994 and is the leading indoor Olympic-standard track in the United Kingdom. It houses the National Cycling Centre and British Cycling. The Velodrome is situated next to the National Indoor BMX Arena, which opened in August 2011.

It hosted the track cycling in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and the UCI world championships in 1996, 2000 and 2008.

Velodrome

The FaulknerBrowns Architects-designed velodrome has a reputation for speed. By 30 March 2008, more than 15 world records had been set there,^[1] including Chris Boardman's 1996 and 2000 hour records and the 4000 metre team pursuit record set by the Great Britain men's team at the 2008 World Championships.

The track is 250 metres long. Its bankings reach 42 degrees in the middle. The track is as steep at the top as it is on the black (racing) line. On 21 May 2007 the velodrome closed to be re-surfaced. The old track was relaid with Siberian pine. It reopened on 16 July 2007, and is now considered smoother to ride.

Events

Revolution Series

Main article: Revolution (cycling series)

Riders on the track during Revolution 22 at Manchester Velodrome

The Revolution Series opened in 2003 to build on well-attended events such as the world championships and World Cup meetings and provide more regular events. There were four over the winter. They built good crowds. The seventh, in 2005, sold all the seats with further fans standing. The first official sell-out was Revolution 14.

The series runs on a Saturday night, with all sprint and endurance events. Internationals compete with British stars and up-and-coming talent. Some riders have retired at Revolution events, rewarded with a retirement presentation. A Future Stars competition has races for riders usually 15 or 16 to test their sprint and endurance. Olympic riders Jason Kenny and Steven Burke came up through this series.

Cycling For All

Fans can ride the boards. Sessions every week run from beginners up to serious training. A taster session involves basic training and an hour riding the track.

Other events

On 2 July 2009 Kraftwerk performed at the velodrome as part of the 2009 Manchester International Festival. As they performed Tour de France, four members of the British Olympic cycling team entered and rode laps of the track.

Notable events

An list of notable events which Manchester Velodrome has hosted:

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish on their way to becoming the 2008 world Madison champions

• 1996 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
• 2000 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
• 2002 Commonwealth Games
• 2003/2004 Revolution Season 1
• 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 3)
• 2004-2005 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 3)
• 2004/2005 Revolution Season 2
• 2005-2006 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 2)
• 2005/2006 Revolution Season 3
• 2006/2007 Revolution Season 4
• 2006–2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 4)
• 2007/2008 Revolution Season 5
• 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 1)
• 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
• 2009–2010 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 1)
• 2010–2011 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 4)

A panorama of Manchester Velodrome during the men's kiren race at the 2011 Track World Cup meet

References

1. ^ "Manchester Velodrome records". Manchester Velodrome official site. http://www.manchestervelodrome.com/static_info/records_newin.htm. Retrieved December 24, 2005. 

External links

• Official website
• The Revolution Series
• British Cycling

Preceded by Velódromo Luis Carlos Galán Bogotá	UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 1996	Succeeded by Perth SpeedDome Perth
Preceded by Berlin Velodrome Berlin	UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 2000	Succeeded by Antwerps Sportpaleis Antwerp
Preceded by Palma Arena Palma de Mallorca	UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 2008	Succeeded by BGŻ Arena Pruszków