Canada\u2019s track cycling landscape got another awesome addition this week. The Alberta Velodrome at Edmonton\u2019s Coronation Park is officially open as of Tuesday. This means Canada now has three world class indoor tracks\u2013joining Bromont and Milton.<\/p>\n
The track is part of the newly completed Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre. The velodrome sits at the centre of the 16,600-square-metre multi-sport complex. It\u2019s a cool design\u2013the building\u2019s elliptical shape wraps around the track itself.<\/p>\n
Endless possibilities<\/p>\n
The boards themselves are elevated one storey above ground level. That means spectators looking down from above can watch riders let it rip during training or racing. But more importantly, it\u2019s a huge addition to year-round infrastructure in Western Canada. There is already the Burnaby Velodrome in British Columbia, a great spot to ride indoors, but at 200 m, it\u2019s not usable for international competition. (But there are all kinds of great programs and races there!)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Alberta Velodrome represents a transformational investment in the future of Canadian cycling. It\u2019s a place where community riders, emerging talent, and world-class athletes can develop and thrive together,\u201d Cycling Canada CEO Mathieu Boucher said.<\/p>\n
That balance \u2014 elite performance alongside grassroots access \u2014 has been central to the project from the start. The velodrome is fully open to local clubs, schools, and community program. But there\u2019s also all kinds of potential now to use Edmonton as a host city for major domestic and international events.<\/p>\n
Scott Fisher, Board Chair of the Alberta Velodrome Association is excited about that potential.
\u201cTogether, we are establishing Edmonton as a national hub for cycling and a destination for world-class and international events,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Big things await<\/p>\n
For athletes, the impact is more immediate\u2013and for some, personal. Olympic gold medalist Kelsey Mitchell sees the Edmonton velodrome as a turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy to think that there will be a world-class velodrome in Edmonton, Alberta,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis is a huge step for not only the cycling community, but the next generation of athletes looking to try something new.\u201d<\/p>\n
The venue will host the 2026 Canadian track champs<\/a> (under-17\/junior), marking the first national event held on the track. Longer term, the velodrome expands year-round training access in Western Canada and strengthens the development pipeline for athletes targeting Olympic and Paralympic competition. Edmonton had a long history of developing some top-class athletes through its outdoor track, the Argyll Velodrome, which unfortunately is slated for demolition.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s track cycling landscape got another awesome addition this week. The Alberta Velodrome at Edmonton\u2019s Coronation Park is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,231977,103938,85,138957],"class_list":{"0":"post-448136","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-edmonton-velodrome","12":"tag-kelsey-mitchell","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-track-racing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}