.jpg) The velodrome in November 2014 | |
 Interactive map of Lee Valley VeloPark | |
| Full name | Lee Valley VeloPark |
|---|---|
| Location | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London,E20 England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°33′01″N0°00′55″W / 51.5504°N 0.0153°W /51.5504; -0.0153 |
| Public transit |      StratfordStratford International |
| Operator | Lee Valley Regional Park Authority[1] |
| Capacity | 6,750 (velodrome) |
| Field size | 250 m (820.21 ft) |
| Surface | Siberian pine (velodrome) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2009 |
| Built | 2009–2011 |
| Opened | 22 February 2011 |
| Construction cost | £105 million (velodrome) |
| Architect | Hopkins Architects (Mike Taylor), Grant Associates |
| Structural engineer | Expedition Engineering |
| Services engineer | BDSP |
| Main contractors | ISG |
Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre inQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park inStratford, London, England. It is owned and managed byLee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the permanent venues for the 2012Olympic andParalympic Games.
Lee Valley VeloPark is at the northern end of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It has an indoorvelodrome and aBMX racing track, which have been used for the Games, as well as a one-mile (1.6 km)road course and 5 miles (8 km) ofmountain bike trails.[2] The park replaces the Eastway Cycle Circuit demolished to make way for it. The facilities built for the Olympics were constructed between 2009 and 2011. The first event in the Velopark was the London round of the2011 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series.
In February 2005, plans were announced for a £22 million VeloPark.Sport England would invest £10.5 million,Lee Valley Regional Park Authority £6 million and theMayor of London andTransport for London would invest £3 million and £2.5 million respectively. The site was to be 34 hectares on the northern end of the proposed Olympic Park, next to theA12. The park would include a velodrome seating 1,500, which could be increased to 6,000 if London's bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were successful. The site would also have an international competition BMX circuit, a BMX freestyle park, cyclo-cross/cross-country course mountain bike course and an outdoor cycle speedway track. The facilities would be used by internationals as well as those learning to ride. It was estimated that the park would attract 88,000 users a year, replacing the Eastway Cycle Circuit.[3][4][5] Eastway Cycle Circuit opened in 1975, it was the first purpose built road cycling venue in Britain.[6]
The facility closed in September 2006 to make way for London's VeloPark.[7] The velodrome is the third 250 m (270 yd) covered track in Great Britain.[8] In September 2008 plans for the VeloPark were revealed,[9] which were chosen with help fromChris Hoy.[10] However, by March 2007, the VeloPark was revealed to be only a third of its original size, rescaled from 34 to 10 hectares.[11] The decrease in the size of the site led to users of the Eastway cycle circuit to protest to the Mayor of London.[12]
On 12 July 2007, theOlympic Delivery Authority selected the design team:Hopkins Architects,Expedition Engineering, BDSP, and Grant Associates, following anarchitectural design competition managed byRIBA Competitions.[13]
The Velopark was scheduled to be completed by the contractor,ISG,[14] in 2011. In 2004, during London's Olympic and Paralympic bid, the estimated cost was£37 million, including £20 million for the velodrome.
In 2009, at the time work began on the construction of the velodrome, the estimated cost of that facility alone was £105 million.[15] Work on the velodrome was completed in February 2011,[16] and was the firstOlympic Park venue to be completed. The roof is designed to reflect the geometry of cycling as well as being lightweight and efficient reflecting a bike.[17] There is also a 360-degree concourse level with windows allowing people views of the Olympic Park. The velodrome is energy efficient—rooflights reduce the need for artificial lights, and natural ventilation reduces the need for air condition. Rain water is also collected, which reduces the amount of water used from the municipal water system. DesignerRon Webb, who designed the velodrome tracks for the Sydney and Athens Games, was in charge of the design and installation of the track. The 250-metre track was made with 56 km (35 miles) ofSiberian Pine and 350,000 nails.[18]
The velodrome was officially opened by many successful British athletes includingChris Hoy andVictoria Pendleton.[19] It isinformally known as "ThePringle" due to its distinctive shape.[20] It was shortlisted for the 2011RIBA Stirling Prize.[21] and won the 2011Structural Awards Supreme Award for Structural Engineering. In 2011, it also won the Prime Minister's Better Public Building Award atBritish Construction Industry Awards.[22]
The venue was used for the first time in competition during theUCI Track Cycling World Cup in February 2012. The velodrome was also used for the2012 Paralympics.[23]
The outdoorBMX racing track was scheduled to have a spectator capacity of 6,000. Work began on its construction in March 2011.[24] After the games the seating was removed and the track reconfigured to accommodate all abilities.[1][24] The first competition on the venue was the test event for the Olympic Games, a round of the 2011 UCI Supercross BMX World Cup series.[24] The track for men is 470 metres long and features a berm jump, an S-bend transfer, a box jump and a rhythm section in the final straight. The women's course is 430 metres long featuring three jumps in the opening straight and a tunnel before like the men's including a rhythm section in the final straight. It has been called one of the most challenging BMX tracks to date.[25] The track also features an 8-metre high starting ramp and was designed by the UCI with the aim of pushing the boundaries of the sport. 14,000 cubic metres (494,405 cu ft) of soil was used to build the track.[26] After the Supercross world cup event,Shanaze Reade called for changes to the track. She stated that the track was "on the limit" if the wind changed.Sarah Walker echoed Reade's calls stating that the track could "get ugly" on a windy day.[26]
In preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, in 2010 theDutch National Olympic Committee commissioned a replica of the planned BMX track at theirNational Sports Centre Papendal. It came into use in March 2011, ahead of the hand over of the London Velopark BMX venue.[27]
The venue was used for the 2012Olympic andParalympic track cycling competition was held in the Velodrome with the adjoining BMX track hosting the Olympic BMX competition.Team GB dominated the track cycling competition winning seven out of a possible ten gold medals plus one silver and one bronze.[28] The GB Paralympic track cycling team won a total of 15 medals, comprising five golds, seven silver and three bronze.
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The Eastway Cycle Circuit was demolished for the VeloPark before being merged with the new park.[29] It was announced that along with the VeloPark there would be three new cycle circuits created around London.[30] In early February 2007 the plans for the VeloPark were revised with no mountain bike course.[31] By mid-February it was announced that Hog Hill would be the temporary relocation of the Eastway Cycle Centre.[30]The promisedcycle speedway track will not be built.[32] In August 2011 it was announced that the road race course will be rerouted to allow more space and parkland after suggestions fromSport England andBritish Cycling. The course will now cross theRiver Lee and parkland linking up with other cycle routes in London.[33]
British Cycling will remain based at the Olympic-standardManchester Velodrome which has been a catalyst for the success of British Cycling in recent years, most notably at the2008 Olympic Games.[34] Team manager of British Cycling,David Brailsford has stated that the new indoorNational BMX Arena in Manchester and the undulating terrain ofNorth West England, ideal for practising road race cycling, offer a distinct advantage over London.[35] An agreement was struck in 2012 to bring track cycling to the London Velodrome post-2012 Olympics, with events such asRevolution series which have proved popular in Manchester.[36] In September 2013 the UCI announced that the Velodrome will host the2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[37]
TheLondon Development Agency (LDA) have funded a new permanent road cycle circuit and mountain bike course at theRedbridge Cycling Centre, costing £5m. TheLondon Borough of Redbridge will be funding the facility up to the completion of the legacy London Velopark. Work is underway to identify an operator of Hog Hill beyond 2012.[38]
Since opening for the public in March 2014, Lee Valley VeloPark has staged a number of major international events.The first that took place in the venue was the grand finale of theRevolution series in February 2014. This was followed by the opening round of the 2014–15 Revolution Series in October 2014 and in December 2014, theUCI Track Cycling World Cup took place at Lee Valley VeloPark. In February 2015, round five of the Revolution Series was staged at the venue while in February 2016, it hosted the2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.[39][40][41][42]
On 7 June 2015, SirBradley Wiggins broke the UCIHour record at the Velodrome, setting a distance of 54.526 km (33.881 miles).[43]
The facility hosted the2022 Commonwealth Games track cycling competition.[44]
The home of British Cycling, the Velodrome is largely credited with the seven gold medals bagged by Team GB at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
| Preceded by | UCI Track Cycling World Championships Venue 2016 | Succeeded by |
| Olympic Park | .jpg) | |
|---|---|---|
| River Zone | ||
| Central Zone | ||
| Outside London | ||
| Football stadia | ||
| Olympic Zone | | |
|---|---|---|
| River Zone | ||
| Outside London | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
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