Track Cycling began in the mid-19th Century but it wasn't until 1895 that the first World Championships took place. Early track races included bizarre high-speed events in which riders slipstreamed four-and six-man pace bikes. These were replaced by motorbikes after the turn of the century, and 'Derny' racing still plays a part in many European six-day races and riders are paced by a Derny in the opening laps of the Keirin event.
Velodromes
Velodromes can range from less than 200 metres (with very steep banking) to over 450 metres on outdoor, concrete tracks. However, Olympic standard velodromes need to be 250 metres in length, completely covered, and made of wood. Wooden velodromes need to be hard, straight and hold their shapes as they age. For this reason, most are built from Baltic Pine which often comes from a plantation in Finland that has supplied virtually every recently built velodrome. A 250 metre track has 60km of 40mm x 40mm x 6m planks and is held together by 360,000 nails.
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Track surfaces last for decades, and get better as they get older: as the wood hardens the track gets faster.
The area infield of the track accommodates team support staff such as coaches, managers, mechanics, and masseurs; the press; officials and timing and in the case of the track at Atlanta, event office space. Offices are usually underground, but the Atlanta track was temporary so no underground facilities were dug. The track was purchased by the Quebec government in 2000, and is now a part of the Bromont Canadian Cycling Traning Center.
The Lee Valley VeloPark that hosted the 2012 London Olympic Games and where the 2016 World Championships will take place is a standard 250-metre track and is made of 56 kilometres of Siberian Pine.
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