Velodrome - History

History

The first velodromes were constructed during the mid-late 19th century. Some were purpose-built just for cycling, others were built as parts of facilities for other sports; many were built around athletics tracks or other grounds and any banking was shallow. And, reflecting the then lack of international standards, sizes varied and not all were built as ovals - for example, the oldest velodrome in the UK, at Preston Park, Brighton (1877), is 579m long and features four straights linked by banked curves, while the 536m Portsmouth velodrome has a single straight linked by one long curve. Early surfaces included cinders or shale, though concrete, asphalt and tarmac later became more common.

Indoor velodromes were also common particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century. For example, the Vélodrome d'hiver was built in Paris in 1909 and featured a 250m indoor track with a wooden surface.

International competitions such as the Olympic Games led to more standardisation: two-straight oval tracks quickly became the norm, and gradually lap lengths reduced. The Vélodrome de Vincennes, used for the 1896 (and 1924) Games was 500m per lap, while Antwerp's Vélodrome d'Anvers Zuremborg, used in 1920, and Helsinki Velodrome, used in 1952, were both 400m. By the 1960s, tracks of 333.3m length were commonly used for international competitions (e.g.: the Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome used for track cycling events at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and Leicester's Saffron Lane velodrome used at the 1970 and 1982 Track Cycling World Championships). Today, such events are usually held on velodromes with 250m laps.