Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

since 1994, coinciding with the nations rise to track cycling dominance at World and Olympic level. The velodrome was also home to

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

Ineos Grenadiers, formerly known as Team Sky between 2010 and 2019, a period when the team won 6

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, 2 Vuelta a Espana and 1 Giro d'Italia with Great Britain riders. The Manchester Velodrome has been cited as the major catalyst for Britain's successes in track and road cycling and has been described by ''

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".Lee Valley VeloPark Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the ...

for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. It is one of the busiest velodromes in the world used by both professional cyclists and members of the public from 8am to 10pm. The venue hosted track cycling for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

and forms part of the Sportcity complex, located adjacent to the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...

, host stadium for the 2002 Games and home of

Manchester City F.C Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...

. It has also hosted the

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, hosts regular meets of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

track cycling series and now hosts

Six-day racing Six-day cycling is a track cycling event that competes over six days. Six-day races started in Britain, spread to many regions of the world, were brought to their modern style in the United States and are now mainly a European event. Initially, ...

. The National Indoor BMX Arena adjacent opened in 2011 and the Velodrome can be accessed from the Metrolink Velopark tram stop on the East Manchester Line.

Velodrome

The Manchester Velodrome was developed as a joint venture between

Sport England Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded p ...

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three f ...

and

, who recognised the need for an Olympic-standard facility in the United Kingdom to improve British track cycling. Funding was provided by the government, through the Department of the Environment (£6.5m), the

Sports Council Sport England is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Its role is to build the foundations of a community sport system by working with national governing bodies of sport, and other funded par ...

(£2m) and the Foundation for Sport and the Arts (£1m). Manchester City Council is the freehold owner and the centre is managed by the Eastlands Trust (formerly named the Velodrome Trust). The Velodrome was dismissed by some as a potential white elephant prior to opening – concerns that were later unfounded with the facility well used by the public and a key part of Britain's ascension to the top of track cycling. The velodrome was designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects and has garnered a reputation for speed since its opening. 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 track is 250 metres long and 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 for resurfacing in Siberian pine at a cost of £400,000. It reopened on 16 July 2007, and is considered a smoother ride. By 30 March 2008, more than 15 world records had been set, including

Chris Boardman Christopher Miles Boardman, (born 26 August 1968) is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1 ...

's 1996 and 2000

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious reco ...

s and the 4000 metre team pursuit record set by the Great Britain men's team at the 2008 World Championships. The UCI hour record set by Boardman in the Best Human Effort category in 1996, was rescinded by UCI in 2000 and subsequent attempts at breaking

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

's 1972 record stopped as UCI believed advanced bicycle technology gave cyclists too much help. Boardman set out to break the record on a bike comparable to Eddy Merckx's 1972 machine. He surpassed the record at the velodrome in 2000, achieving a distance of 49.444 km as against the 1972 record of 49.431 km, and then retired. The velodrome has become a popular venue for cyclists with taster and practice sessions frequently booked up several weeks in advance. In 2011, the National Indoor BMX Arena was opened next to the velodrome. Plans proposed in 2012 included a mountain bike trail on Clayton Vale, which would be the first facility of its kind in the United Kingdom and would aim to replicate Britain's performance on the track in mountain biking.

Events

Revolution

The Revolution Series opened in 2003 to build on events such as the world championships and World Cup meetings and provide more regular events. There were four Revolution events over the winter of 2003–04. They built good crowds. The seventh, in 2005, sold all the seats with further fans standing. The first official sell-out was Revolution 14. The series of sprint and endurance events runs on Saturday nights. Internationals compete with British stars and up-and-coming talent. Some riders have retired at Revolution events, rewarded with a retirement presentation. A Future Stars competition has races for young riders aged 15 or 16 to test their sprint and endurance. Olympic riders

Jason Kenny Sir Jason Francis Kenny, (born 23 March 1988) is an English former track cyclist, specialising in the individual and team sprints. Kenny is the holder of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) for a British athlete. His wife, Laura Ke ...

and Steven Burke came up through this series. In 2012 it was announced that Revolution events would take place at the recently opened London Velodrome and Glasgow Velodrome from 2013.

Other events

On 2 July 2009

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performed at the velodrome as part of the 2009

Manchester International Festival The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international arts festival, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of Manchester and run by Factory International. The festival is a biennial event, first tak ...

. As they performed ''

'', four members of the British Olympic cycling team entered and rode laps of the track.

Notable events

A list of notable events which Manchester Velodrome has hosted: * 1994 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships *

1995 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strikes ...

* 1996 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships *

1996 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 1996 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Manchester, United Kingdom from August 28 to September 1, 1996. Twelve events were contested, eight for the men and four for the wom ...

1997 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...

* 1998 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships *

1999 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shooti ...

2000 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2000 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Manchester, United Kingdom from October 26 to October 30, 2000. Medal table Medal summary Notes References External linksW ...

* 2001 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2002 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships *

2003 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

* 2003–04 Revolution – Season 1 * 2004 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships *

2004 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2004 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. Hi ...

(Round 3) *

2004–05 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2004–2005 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycl ...

(Round 3) * 2004–05 Revolution – Season 2 *

2005–06 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2005–2006 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycl ...

(Round 2) * 2005 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2005–06 Revolution – Season 3 * 2006 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2006–07 Revolution – Season 4 *

2006–07 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2006–2007 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling. The season began on 17 November 2006 and completed on 25 February 2007. The World Cup is organised by the UCI. Calendar Men Wo ...

(Round 4) *

2007 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, ...

* 2007–08 Revolution – Season 5 * 2008–09 Revolution – Season 6 *

2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2008–2009 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics was a multi race competition over a season of track cycling. The season ran from 31 October 2008 to 18 February 2009. The World Cup is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The World C ...

(Round 1) *

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pur ...

* 2009–10 Revolution – Season 7 * 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics (Round 1) * 2010–11 Revolution – Season 8 *

2010–11 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2010–2011 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics was a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling. The season ran from 2 December 2010 to 20 February 2011. The World Cup is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. As in the pr ...

(Round 4) * 2011 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2011–12 Revolution – Season 9 * 2012 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2012–13 Revolution – Season 10 (Rounds 1, 2, and 3) * 2013 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2013–14 Revolution – Season 11 (Rounds 1, 3, and 4) *

2013–14 UCI Track Cycling World Cup The 2013–2014 UCI Track Cycling World Cup was a multi race tournament over a track cycling season. It was the twenty-second series of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The series ran from 1 November ...

(Round 1) * 2014 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2015 UCI Track Cycling Masters World Championships * 2019 British National Track Championships

References

External links

Official website
Cycle racing in England Velodromes in England 2002 Commonwealth Games venues Sports venues in Manchester 1994 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1994 Velo {{coord missing, Greater Manchester