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Venue
for the 2002 Commonwealth Games cycling events, the 1996 &
2000 UCI World Track Cycling Championships; UCI World Track
Cup 2004/2005 and much more.
About Manchester Velodrome; Venue
for the 2002 Commonwealth Games cycling events, the 1996 &
2000 UCI World Track Cycling Championships; UCI World Track
Cup 2004/2005 and much more.
History
The Centre was developed as a joint venture between the Sports
Council, Manchester City Council and the British Cycling Federation.
Funding was provided by the Government, through the Department
of the Environment (£6.5m), the Sports Council (£2m) and the
Foundation for Sport and the Arts (£1m). Manchester City Council
is the freehold owner and the centre is managed by The Velodrome
Trust. The centre’s roof structure is based around a 122 metre,
200 tonne arch allowing for an unrestricted viewing area for
spectators. Covered by an aluminium roof, the total structure
weighs around 600 tonnes.
The building housing the 250 metre
track covers 10,000 square metres and is the first purpose
built indoor cycling facility in the U.K. Designed and built
by R.V. Webb Ltd., the surface is supported by approximately
380 trusses upon which 80 kilometres of 40mm square Siberian
pine is laid. The steepest part of the track is 42½º and the
‘shallowest’ part of the track is 12½º. Its unique design
makes a frighteningly steep - looking surface to be ridden
without great difficulty and has been acclaimed as an extremely
‘rideable’ track. The geometry of the design is to maximise
speed. The angle of the exit from the bankings is steeper
than that of the entry so that a competitor is ‘catapulted’
along the straights - in effect, always downhill.
Record breakers
Since the Centre opened in September 1994, records have been
broken - with substantial improvements. On June 17th 1995,
Britain’s Yvonne McGregor broke the women’s world hour record
increasing the existing 47.112 Kilometres covered by Catherine
Marsal of France by 299 metres to 47.411 Kilometres, about
1¼ laps of the track. The record has since been beaten at
altitude in Mexico by France’s Jeanie Longo.
At the 1996 World Track Cycling
Championships world records were broken and then broken again.
The most famous of these was for the 4,000 metres Individual
Pursuit by local hero Chris Boardman who astounded the cycling
world, riding to the title of World Champion in a time of
4min 11.114 seconds before an enthusiastic capacity crowd,
having taken over 8 seconds off the record that existed before
the Championships started. Nine days later, on September 6th,
he set a new world record riding solo on the track for an
hour, covering 56.375 kilometres (in front of a packed house
of thrilled spectators) - over 1 kilometre more than that
covered by the previous record holder, Switzerland’s Tony
Rominger.
GB Training Venue for World
Success
The results of constant training on the Manchester track came
to the fore again at the 1999 World Track Championships in
Berlin. The British Trio of Craig MacLean, Chris Hoy and Jason
Queally (who started his track career on the Manchester Velodrome)
took the Silver medal in the Olympic Sprint. The 2000 Sydney
Olympics was the event where the sporting world had to sit
up and take notice of the British Cycling team when Jason
won the 1 Kilometre Time trial. This was followed by medals
in most of the track disciplines, with ten of the eleven members
of the track team winning medals. The Olympic Sprint trio
came good again and were only just beaten by the French. Yvonne
McGregor won an Bronze in the Women’s pursuit, the Team Pursuit
squad took Bronze and the unluckiest man in the Games, Rob
Hayles, was finally given a Bronze along with Jon Clay for
their efforts in securing the Bronze medal in the Team Pursuit.
In 2000 the UCI re-defined the
rules for the hour record, renaming it the ’Athletes’ record.
This meant that any subsequent breaking of the record had
to be on a conventional bicycle, with no aerodynamic aids.
On Friday 27th October 2000, during the World Championships
in Manchester, Chris Boardman put on a show of determination
to break the record held by the great Eddy Merckx of Belgium
and set the new record of 49.441 Km – an additional 10 metres.
The 2000 World Track Championships produced another Champion
in Yvonne McGregor when she deservedly took the Women’s Pursuit
Gold medal in fine style. The Olympic Sprint Silver again
went to our trio, Bronze to the Team Pursuit and Rob Hayles
finished the championships for Great Britain with third place
in the Individual Pursuit and, like Yvonne, was rewarded with
a standing ovation from the spectators.
Commonwealth Games
The event for which the facility was built, the XVII Commonwealth
Games, culminated in the World Team pursuit record, broken
at the 1996 World championships, coming back to Manchester.
The existing record, the first ride ever under 4 minutes,
was broken at the 2000 Sidney Olympics by the team representing
Germany with a time of 3 min 59.710 seconds. The Australian
team beat the English squad in the Manchester Commonwealth
Games final with a faultless ride and a new record of 3.59.583.
Following the Commonwealth Games
the members of the WCPP team produced the best ever results
for British riders at the World Track Championships, collecting
three titles (and five Rainbow jerseys) at the 2002 Copenhagen
Championships, Chris Hoy taking the Kilometre title then joining
forces with fellow Scot Craig McLean and the 'new boy' Jamie
Staff to win the Team Sprint. To top the series Chris Newton
won the Points event and helped the Team Pursuit riders to
a Bronze medal. Tony Gibb collected a Silver Medal in the
Scratch race,
Multi-Purpose Building
Whilst the building has been designed essentially to house
an indoor cycle track it should be noted that it is a very
versatile multi-function facility. The arena has a seating
capacity of 3,500 around the track and a total of 1,000 in
the centre for competitors and officials during a meeting.
This capacity in the centre area allows for spectators for
events such as Basketball in a smaller arena defined by the
40 x 38 metre ‘square’. The centre floor is a sprung wooden
surface and is presently marked out for Basketball, Netball
and Badminton to be practised and played. Since opening the
centre area has been used for a variety of events ranging
from aerobics classes to the World Acrobatics Championships.
There was also a Conservative party rally prior to the 1997
General election when the centre floor was turned into a huge
stage.
Other major meetings include the
UCI World Masters Championships from 1995 through to 2002,
the BCF National Track Championships, BBC ‘Children in Need’
Charity meetings (with top riders in fancy dress providing
fun and fast racing).
Lighting of the arena is by two
separate systems - the track lighting ring can be increased
from a basic level for training to a second ‘mid’ level for
larger events. The upper level of lighting is above that required
for television transmission. Lighting of the centre area is
also provided for by a separate rig which has two levels of
coverage - 50% and 100%.
For sponsors, companies or other
organisations, there are two Hospitality Suites over-looking
the northern banking on the concourse level.
To allow for officials to have
a constantly clear view of the proceedings, the area the competitors
use prior to their events is D-shaped and one metre lower
than the run-off area.
As well as the main arena, the
building also has the facility for conferences, seminars,
meetings and publicity launches.
The building has areas set aside
for the use of disabled visitors, including toilets for disabled
people on all levels and gives access to all areas by ramp
or lift.
The building has a five metre
wide, three metre high tunnel below the south banking of the
track for the movement of vehicles from outside and right
to the track side if necessary.
In the event of an accident where
there is a competitor injured and unable to be moved a long
way to an awaiting ambulance, it would be possible to drive
the vehicle to the track side.
The tunnel also allows for equipment
to be brought in to the centre of the building without fear
of damage to the track if something were to be accidentally
dropped by passing anything over the surface.
The area below the concourse level
is called a ‘sterile’ area so that the officials, competitors
and spectators can be kept apart during meetings allowing
the events to function effectively. This area contains the
suite for the Centre’s management team and also that of ‘British
Cycling’, the national governing body of the sport which is
based at the stadium. The centre now houses the offices and
staff of the World Class Performance Plan where Britain’s
star riders can train at the fastest sea-level track in the
world for competition against (and now beat) the rest of the
world’s best.
There are two Suites for conferences
and meetings and, depending on their use, can seat up to 70
people. There is a cafe with seating for up to 150. This normally
supplies the daily needs of the staff at the Centre, for the
larger occasion it becomes a dining area for officials and
competitors.
Also on this level, there is a
substantial weight-training room and a press-room where journalists
have direct telephone lines. There is also a Results room,
a Physiological testing laboratory to test riders condition
- their present level of fitness, a Physiotherapy room, cycle
store areas and workshop, competitor changing rooms and a
laundry (for the national squads to have their washing done
on-site). There are also other storerooms and a medical control
suite.
Part of the facility in the upper-concourse
area is the Technical Services room which houses the timing
and results computers and provides spectators with information,
principally about cycling events, competitors names and results
etc with a team of operators that is rated as one of the best
in the world.
This combines the results from
the electronic, colour-camera photo-finish equipment, that
can separate riders by as little as 1 pixel (about 4mm), with
timing of events to one thousandth of a second. There have
been very few dead-heats in seven years. When required, advertisements
for events and meeting sponsors and general event information
can be displayed.
The centre has been awarded with
British Olympic Association Accreditation, one of only two
facilities in the country to have it - the other is Lilleshall
in Staffordshire, such is the quality of the facility for
sporting excellence.
The centre is not just for the
elite, the Eastlands Velo running three sessions a week for
younger riders. The centre runs sessions for which bike hire
is available - ‘Tasters’, track Skills and Induction sessions,
for club riders aspiring to learn to ride the track and acquire
new skills, followed by turn-up-and-ride training sessions
known as SQTs, (Structured Quality Training) all of which
are very reasonably priced. The fitness room, ‘Motive-8’ and
a sunbed give full use of the facility.
The track is in use almost every
day of the year with a wide range of organisations - from
novices to the National Team. Racing take place regularly
at the Velodrome throughout the winter from September until
April with three local leagues running meetings during the
week.
The facility is open to the public
for viewing between the hours of 9am and 10pm (subject to
other events taking place during the year).
Finally, the whole facility is
enclosed with car park spaces for 500 cars and coaches with
CCTV in place.
Copyright © 2002 The Velodrome
Trust. All rights reserved.
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