Olympics Desk

London has a completed velodrome, ready for the 2012 Olympics Games, with all the "major" leaders of the capital exhtaling its virture, leading the praise from City Hall was the Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson who said:

"This magnificent venue is a triumph for all those involved in its design and construction. Already an icon for the London Games, with its sweeping roof and sleek ribbon of track, the Velodrome is poised for our world-beating cycling team to smash records in the summer of 2012 and inspire a new generation of racers to take to the saddle. There is no doubt that the Velodrome will be the venue of choice after the Games, both by the community and for major international competitions for years to come, helping to make London the cycling capital of the world."

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: "In delivering the Velodrome on time and to budget we have completed our first Olympic Park venue and our biggest milestone to-date. The striking architecture of the Velodrome and the medal prospects of our world-leading cyclists mean the venue will become one of the defining images from the Games, and a landmark new building for future generations to enjoy. The architect, engineers and contractor have worked together to produce a stunning and sustainable building - it is a worthy venue to be first past the Olympic Park finishing line and a testament to the hard work of those on site."

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: "This is a stunning venue built for champions, and designed for legacy. The ODA has done a terrific job. Over the next 18 months LOCOG will be testing the venue and installing the temporary facilities needed for an Olympic and Paralympic competition Velodrome. The British cycling teams provided many of the team GB superstars in recent Games and I am proud to see them on the track for the first time today."   

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, said: "The progress on the Velodrome has been phenomenal and it is fitting that it should be the first venue on the Olympic Park to be finished, given the gold medal hopes we have for our British Olympic track cycling team at the Games. Watching Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton christen the track today was a historic first in the countdown to London 2012."

Ian Drake, Chief Executive of British Cycling, said: "This fantastic Velodrome will be nothing but an inspiration to our Olympic and Paralympic riders in 2012. Indeed, with the continued growth in popularity of cycling, anyone who is inspired to ride by the likes of Hoy or Pendleton will benefit. Put alongside our home in Manchester and the forthcoming Velodrome in Glasgow we are in a really strong position to further build upon our status as the world's leading track cycling nation with world-class facilities that are second to none."

British cyclists including Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Jason Kenny took to the track in the London 2012 Velodrome for the first time today as the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) unveiled the first Olympic Park venue to finish construction, on time and to budget.

The 6,000 seat Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic track cycling events in 2012. After the Games, the legacy Velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities. The ODA started work on the Velodrome in March 2009 with construction now completed and the first Olympic Park venue in place nearly 18 months before the start of the Games.

Selected riders from the Great Britain Cycling Team tried out the Velodrome for the first time today including Beijing Games medal winners Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Jason Kenny and Ross Edgar, together with rising stars and established names in the GB cycling team. The cyclists were joined in unveiling the Velodrome by ODA Chairman John Armitt, Seb Coe Chair of the London Organising Committee (LOCOG), Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and other guests.

Sir Chris Hoy, triple Gold medal-winner at the Beijing Games and the most successful Olympic male cyclist of all time, said: "Having been involved in a very small way in the design process in the early stages, it's amazing to see the Velodrome finally completed, and to be able to have ridden on it today gives me a feel for what it's going to be like in a year and a half's time. I can't wait!"

The venue will be used after the 2012 as a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create the Lee Valley VeloPark, combining cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling 'hub'

Velodrome fact file:

Velodrome facilities:

-          250m UCI (International Cycling Union) approved indoor track

-          6,000 seats and 360 degree concourse in legacy for viewing all cycling activities

-          Legacy café, changing rooms, cycle workshop, & storage for over 300 bikes with a legacy bike hire outlet for families to hire bikes to use the new cycling facilities

-          Venue will be linked into cycle routes across London

Cycling legacy:

-          After the Games, a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create the Lee Valley VeloPark, combining cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling 'hub'

-          The legacy VeloPark will be owned and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority

Games-time:

-          There will be 10 gold medals to be won in the London 2012 Velodrome, five for men and five for women.

-          There will be five events for men and five for women: Sprint, Team Sprint, Keirin, Team Pursuit, and The Omnium

-          188 riders will compete in London 2012

-          The track cycling competition will take place over six days in London 2012



Velodrome design:

-          Distinct Velodrome roof designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track, using a very lightweight double curving cable net structure

-          The 6,000 seats are split into a lower and upper tier, allowing a 360 degrees concourse level in between with a continuous ribbon of full height windows

-          The 360 degree glazed concourse level in legacy will offer spectators inside the Velodrome views out onto the rest of the Olympic Park and across the London skyline, while allowing people outside of the Velodrome views into the venue and down onto the cycling track



Construction:

-          The Velodrome was constructed over a period of 23 months with up to 450 workers on site at the peak of construction and 2,500 workers involved through the course of the project

-          Some 48,000 cubic metres of material was excavated to create the bowl for the Velodrome, enough to fill 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools

-          2,500 sections of steelwork were installed to 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 features some 16km of cabling, covering an area of 12,000m2

-          The striking outer cladding of the venue uses 5,000m2 of Western Red Cedar timber



Velodrome track:

-          The Velodrome has been designed with the aim of creating the world's fastest cycling track by tailoring the track geometry and setting the temperature and environmental conditions within the venue to create record-breaking conditions

-          The venue has also been being designed with seating all the way round the track to create the best possible crowd atmosphere during events.

-          Renowned Velodrome track designer Ron Webb oversaw the design and installation of the 2012 track having previously worked on the Sydney and Athens Velodromes

-          A team of 26 specialist carpenters installed the cycling track over a period of 8 weeks

-          56km of surface timber from a sustainably-sourced Siberian pine was laid to form the track surface, fixed into place with more than 350,000 nails



Sustainability elements:

-          The building has been designed to be lightweight and efficient to reflect the efficient design of a bicycle

-          The use of abundant daylight through strategically positioned rooflights reduces need for artificial lighting, and natural ventilation is achieved through openings in the external timber cladding of the venue

-          Water saving fittings and collection of rainwater for reuse in building are built into design to help reduce water consumption

-          Compact design minimises energy consumed to heat the main arena

-          Lightweight cable-net roof structure weighs 30kg/m2 compared to 65kg/m2 for the Beijing Velodrome, helping create a highly efficient building