Manchester Velodrome
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Manchester Velodrome is an indoor cycle-racing track (or velodrome) in Manchester, northern England. It opened in September 1994 and is the United Kingdom's leading indoor Olympic-standard track. Today it is home to the National Cycling Centre, and the headquarters of British Cycling, the national governing body. It is open to the public.
It hosted the track cycling in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and the UCI world championships in 1996, 2000 and 2008.
The track has a reputation for speed. By 30 March 2008, more than 15 world records had been set there, 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.
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[edit] Revolution Series
The Revolution Series was introduced in 2003 to make track cycling more popular. It uses music and lighting to add to the spectacle. It has been a success, the velodrome sold out on a number of occasions. The series attracted top riders. There are intermediate races for up-and-coming riders.
Some of the top names that have competed in the Revolution include:
- David Millar- GBR
- Bradley Wiggins- GBR
- Chris Hoy- GBR
- Craig Maclean-GBR
- Jamie Staff-GBR
- Jason Queally-GBR
- Victoria Pendleton-GBR
- Jan van Eijden-GER
- Franco Marvulli-SWI
- Bradley McGee-AUS
- Chris Newton-GBR
- Mark Cavendish-GBR
- Geraint Thomas-GBR
- Sergei Escobar Roure-ESP
- Arnaud Tournant-FRA
- Theo Bos-NED
- Yarolsav Popovych-UKR
- Roger Hammond-GB
- Gilberto Simoni-ITA
The series will run again in the winter of 2009, its seventh season.
[edit] Hosted events
An incomplete list of events which Manchester Velodrome has hosted:
- 1996 UCI world championships
- 2000 UCI world championships
- 2002 Commonwealth Games (track cycling events only)
- 2003/2004 Revolution Series 1
- 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics Round 3
- 2004-2005 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics Round 3
- 2004/2005 Revolution Series 2
- 2005-2006 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics Round 2
- 2005/2006 Revolution Series 3
- 2006/2007 Revolution Series 4
- 2006–2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics Round 4
- 2007/2008 Revolution Series 5
- 2008 UCI world championships
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Manchester Velodrome records. Manchester Velodrome official site. Retrieved on December 24, 2005.
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