Opening date for Olympic velodrome

The Olympic velodrome and BMX track will reopen on March 4 next year.

In seven months, the east London site – now called the Lee Valley VeloPark - reopens to the public, with sessions from £2 for club cyclists and £4 for individual riders.

The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), which owns and runs the site, is billing it as “the world’s premier cycling venue” as it boasts the 2012 velodrome, a remodelled Olympic BMX circuit alongside new mountain bike trails, and a floodlit road circuit.

Cycling stars of the London 2012 Games will be back at the scene of their sporting glory as part of the grand opening.

They will be at the 2012 velodrome on March 14 and 15 as the grand finale of Revolution – Britain’s top annual track cycling series – has been moved there for this special occasion.

The VeloPark, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, must cater for everyone from children to champions, according to LVRPA chief executive Shaun Dawson. Around 600,000 visitors a year are expected.

The site, particularly the 2012 velodrome, “is very strong venue”, he said.

Dawson noted: “It is iconic and sexy and where the Olympics were held. It will help to pay for the community stream (of programmes) but we need to strike a balance with the pricing.

“For people who have never ridden a bike, to those who are setting world records, these unparalleled facilities will deliver the Olympic promise of inspiring a generation,” he said.

“Our ethos is to run venues that are community-focused and commercially-driven.”