Lea Valley VeloPark Legacy Mode Redevelopment | 6,000 Capacity | U/C

[eugenius]

That Pro Section is going to be immense!!

The Elite Men will ride the Pro Section - going to the LH side down the first straight and jumping over the inside berm, then coming down the central straight and hip jumping over the tunnel to the outer berm and then a large jump out of the berm before the third straight. Women take the other line with smaller jumps and through the tunnel - which is unfortunate as there are only a couple of women in the world that would clear the jumps on the Pro Section - and one of those is Shanaze Reade!).

Edit - here is a 3D image of the track that will be used in this summers UCI BMX Supercross Series, and then for the Olympics next year:
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/ge...A4Njk&LangId=1

[flare]

Wow. Do they often have tunnels in BMX?

[WooWoo]

I also remember reading a report about the Dutch people showing off because they had made an "exact replica" of the 2012 BMX track, about 6 months ago, and how this would give their riders a massive advantage over every other competitor in next years BMX competition. Safe to say looking at this, they definitely did not build a replica

Edit: Just looked at the Dutch Olympic training track now, and I have to say, they managed to get quite close to the design of London's. My bad

[eugenius]

Originally Posted by WooWoo

I also remember reading a report about the Dutch people showing off because they had made an "exact replica" of the 2012 BMX track, about 6 months ago, and how this would give their riders a massive advantage over every other competitor in next years BMX competition. Safe to say looking at this, they definitely did not build a replica

Edit: Just looked at the Dutch Olympic training track now, and I have to say, they managed to get quite close to the design of London's. My bad

The Dutch course is almost an exact replica of the mens track. However they don't have the tunnel for the womens track going under the mens - they just cross over the top.

The Dutch track was seen as being one of the most extreme BMX Supercross tracks ever when it was raced earlier this month - with a lot of riders complaining about the length, and some of the more extreme jumps - in particular the box jump at the end of the second straight that if you don't have the speed, you just cannot complete it! Had riders who had crashed earlier on the course climbing over it which is not a good look. Expect some fine tuning of the London track as a result of this.

Also - no - I don't think any BMX tracks have ever had a tunnel in! My only concerns are if there is heavy rain before the event (in which case it will puddle up down there) and if there is a crash by any leading riders going into there..... as the rest of the field will have nowhere to go and will crash into them! I don't really understand the rationale around having the tunnel - as it is not as if riders will be crossing over during the race as one track is for the men and one for the women (although would be awesome to see a mass race with both tracks being used!!!).

I suspect that the track, the box jump and some of the large Pro-Section jumps will be removed as part of the re-modelling of the track after the games. However they will want to retain a track that they can hold World/European events on as well as being safe for beginners.

If I was in the UK this summer I would most definitely be going to the UCI BMX Supercross event on 19th/20th August - a chance to see the Olympic Park / some venues up close before hand, and should be some awesome racing and LOTS of crashes (if the results of the Dutch track are replicated!!!).

Edit
London Track (for this years UCI BMX Supercross... I think there could be some changes before next summer):
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/ge...A4Njk&LangId=1
Dutch Track:
http://www.uci.ch/Modules/BUILTIN/ge...g2OTY&LangId=1

and to demonstrate how extreme some of the jumps are this is the much tamer World Championship course in Copenhagen for this weekend:
http://www.bmxcopenhagen.com/wp-cont...-BMX-Track.jpg

[southseasteve]

[DidymusCoombe]

Velodrome now in keyring form: http://www.johnlewis.com/283648/Product.aspx





Also available in Main Stadium and Aquatic Centre flavours.

[bertyboy]

That's actually surprisingly funky! It's certainly the best of the three.
The stadium key-ring doesn't have a wrap! Maybe someone could sponsor one?

[Gherkin]

Aquatics Centre in legacy mode looks much nicer on a keyring

[eugenius]

Video of BMX track http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14592623

Also - the racing tonight will be live on here: http://freecaster.tv/bmx/1017315/bmx...ndon-pre-event

[flare]

Anyone see the BMX? How did the men cope with the box?

[TheWalker]

I noticed the velodrome in this article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15019587
Look under the caption GREEN IS GREAT in the picture

[Palimpsest]

I attended a presentation at The Building Centre this evening examining the various aspects of how to break a cycling record. As a prelude to the main speaker, Graeme Obree (ex-holder of the one hour cycling record), Mike Taylor of Hopkins Architects explained how the velodrome's architecture will contribute: one aspect that had hitherto passed me by is that the radius to the exit curves is slightly different from the radius of the entry curves, so that the track (and the seating) is only symmetrical about a diagonal axis. Klaus Bode of BDSP explained how the optimum environment for cycling competitors (and record breaking) is hot and humid (hotter air is less dense than colder air, water vapour is lighter than air) which of course is not ideal for spectators. The area within the track is used as a warm-up area and uses under-floor heating to match its temperature to the track's temperature. Those lucky enough to have Olympic/Paralympic tickets might question the effectiveness of the ventilation but the high temperature during major events is by design and can be moderated in legacy mode, thanks to 20 heating/ventilation installations arranged in the space under the seating. Mike Taylor said that the building has been designed to tie in with the surrounding velopark for the next 50 years, with provision to accommodate, and I directly quote, "two weeks of madness".

[spindrift]

Rhubarb:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/r...-boris-johnson

[Brummyboy92]

This kind of reminds me of a Pringle, nice though

[Officer Dibble]

[DarJoLe]

Photos from london2012.com

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[gegloma01]

The velodrome is awesome.

[pagey17]

Gorgeous the best venue without doubt.

[Frankus Maximus]

From a bus tour of the Olympic Park:

[Core Rising]

Sydney:



Athens:



Beijing:




London: