A spectacular new Velodrome is currently being constructed at Pride Park, in Derby. When finished, it will contain Britain’s fifth 250-metres indoor track – and is likely to welcome some of the biggest names in the world of cycling, as well as a sizeable peloton of mere novices from all parts of the country.
Scheduled for completion in October 2014, it is now well on schedule to be fully operational from January, 2015.
While the main focus will obviously be on indoor cycling events in front of 1,500 spectators, it also has a 12-badminton-court-size infield area, which means that it can be put to a wide variety of uses: from hosting other major sports events, to being transformed into a concert venue capable of hosting a audiences of around 5,000 people.
It will also boast a cafe, fitness gym, state-of-the-arts group exercise studios and a spinning studio.
Everything is also well on-track for this new £30-million venue to start operating, from January, as a major new attraction for anyone who wants to get up-close-and-personal with a world-class indoor cycle track.
Laid by specialists who arrived from Hong Kong, and were due to move-on to Peru and Toronto once they had hammered 270,000 nails into place in Derby, the track already looked amazing on a sneek-peek preview visit in July. It’s almost impossible to stand next to it without mouthing the word “WOW”; and being totally impressed by the awesome angles which the world’s best cyclists will stoop to conquer during their high-speed chases.
Anyone who is interested in taking to the track at Derby Velodrome will have an opportunity to do so from January – by paying for a brief induction course, which includes the hire of one of the venue’s bikes. The best insider tip for now is to keep an eye on the Visit Derby website for further details, which are expected to appear towards the end of the year.