Preston Park Velodrome

The Preston Park Velodrome is a velodrome in the north-east corner of Preston Park in Brighton, UK. It is the oldest velodrome in the UK having been opened on 12 May 1877, and is the oldest, working velodrome in the world.[1]

History

The velodrome was originally built by the British Army, the arena being dug out entirely by hand.[2] At that time the arena comprised a cricket pitch, surrounding cycle track, pavilion and open air, flint-edged seating for thousands of people.[3] [4] The arena remains in use for both cricket and cycling to this day, the original Pavilion is still standing and the flint edged seating can still be seen around the North and Eastern sides of the track.

As well as being the first track in the UK, Preston Park is also the longest in the country at 579m (1900 feet) as well as being one of the few velodromes which is not the normal oval shape, instead comprising four straights and two slightly banked corners.[5] This is because there were no international velodrome standards until after Olympic track cycling grew in popularity after 1900, so early velodromes from the late 1800's came in all shapes and sizes.

A grandstand with wooden seating for 500 people was added in 1930 and a tarmac surface was added in 1936, with the two banked corners added at the same time for safety reasons. Attendees of 3000-5000 spectators were a regular occurrence with the largest recorded attendance reaching 8,000 in August 1952 to see world champion Reg Harris in action. Other sources put bank holiday race attendances at 10,000 spectators. [2]

Modernisation

Racing was forced to stop in 2015 when the track fell into general disrepair. Following rider concerns about safety issues it was deemed unsafe for racing by British Cycling in 2015 with the quality of track fencing being the main issue.[6] While this didn't prevent recreational use of the track, it did mean that official racing had to stop, such as the Sussex Cycle Racing League. A successful Save Preston Park Cycle Track campaign was started, which was supported by former Tour de France cyclist and Team Sky sporting director Sean Yates.[7] This was attended by many riders along with hundreds of supporters from the wider cycling community, demonstrating the value of this important amenity not just to cycling clubs and racing leagues but to local families and recreational cyclists who all use the velodrome regularly. In January 2016 British Cycling announced that it would contribute £110,000 of the £160,000 needed to repair and reopen the track, with the remainder of the required funding coming from Section 106 financial contributions made by developers as part of planning applications.[8] The track reopened for racing in May 2016.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "List of cycling tracks and velodromes", Wikipedia, 2018-08-30, retrieved 2018-09-11
  2. 1 2 "Cycling at Preston Park Velodrome | Brighton & Hove City Council". www.brighton-hove.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  3. ↑ "History | Friends of Preston Park". www.friendsofprestonpark.org. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  4. ↑ England, Historic. "PRESTON MANOR AND PRESTON PARK, The City of Brighton and Hove - 1000204| Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  5. ↑ "Preston Park Velodrome receives racing ban over safety fears - Cycling Weekly". Cycling Weekly. 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2018-08-11.
  6. ↑ "Preston Park Velodrome receives racing ban over safety fears - Cycling Weekly". Cycling Weekly. 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  7. 1 2 "Velodrome reopens for competitions". BBC News. 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
  8. ↑ "British Cycling funding package set to save racing at Preston Park velodrome - Cycling Weekly". Cycling Weekly. 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2018-07-28.

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