The Velodrome is one of the 7 venue’s located within the Olympic park. It’s the venue for Track Cycling and Paralympic Track Cycling.
Sarah Storey, Track Cycling Paralympic gold medallist said:
“It’s amazing. I think it’s the legacy that’s going to be one of the most inspiring parts of the whole project.”
What’s inside?
The Velodrome has a capacity of 6,000, positioned all the way round the track and with two upper tiers on either side. In the middle is the ‘infield area’ where all the athletes will warm up before they then go onto the track to compete.
Design features
The BMX track will be alongside the Velodrome and has a capacity of 6,000 during the Games. At its steepest, the track goes down at 47 degrees to the infield. 16kms of cable make a net which forms the dramatic double-curvature roof. This means it is shaped a bit like a saddle. The two curves in the design of the roof complement the curves of the track underneath. Sir Chris Hoy was one of the cyclists consulted by the architects to ensure the Velodrome would be both cyclist and spectator friendly. He asked for industrial air curtains to be installed by all the doors. This is to cut down the draught of cold air as spectators arrive and leave which can have a bad effect on performance in timed events. The cyclists also asked for a high banking of seats all the way round the track to help create the atmospheric “wall of noise”.
Problem Solving
Between the upper and lower tiers of seats is a glass wall which allows spectators to see out across the Olympic Park. It also means the people outside can see the sporting action inside!
Carefully positioned roof lights and ventilation inlets allow daylight into the venue and fresh air to circulate all around.
What was here before?
Before work started, the area was the Eastway Cycle Circuit so the Velodrome continues the tradition of cycling in the area.
After the Games
A new mountain bike course and road-cycle circuit is planned to create a VeloPark for the local community, sports clubs and elite athletes.
Watch this:
A film about the completion of the Velodrome track
A film about the completion of the Velodrome
A few more number crunching facts…
Some 48,000 cubic metres of material was excavated to create the bowl for the Velodrome; that’s enough to fill 19 50m swimming pools.
2,500 sections of steelwork form the Velodrome structure, rising in height by 12 metres from the shallowest point to the highest part of the structure.
The cable-net roof lift took eight weeks to complete and has 16km of cabling, covering an area of 12,000sqm.
350,000 nails were hammered into 56km of timber to form the race track made from sustainably-sourced Siberian pine. The lightweight cable-net roof structure weighs 30kg/sqm. That’s compared to 65kg/sqm for the Beijing Velodrome.
