1 year ago
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President of the Jamaica Cycling Federation (JCF), Dr Wayne Palmer, lamented the poor state of the National Stadium velodrome, the sole cycle track in the island, at the National Track Championships at the weekend.
Palmer said the substandard state of the track makes it much slower and it damages equipment. He said it also discourages riders from participating in the annual event. He is now hoping that the Government will fast-track their plans for a new national velodrome.
“It is in a relatively poor condition. The surface is very rough, and there are areas of the surface which are broken. It still can be used for racing and training, but we really hope to get a new track,” Palmer told The Gleaner.
He pointed out that the surface of the track and the way it is designed prevents riders from going as fast as they possibly can and points to the times local riders do overseas compared to when they are at the stadium.
“So we know that our track is slow, and the surface itself is slowing the riders,” he said.
The riders are also restricted in the equipment the track allows them to use.
“They can’t use their best equipment. The faster wheels have synthetic tyres, and they are likely to be damaged on the surface. So a lot of riders are not using the top equipment as they fear damage on the track,” Palmer said.
DEVELOPMENT
“You have some riders who don’t even come out to ride because of that reason. So the track itself does hamper their development,” the JCF boss added.
Plans for a new velodrome were announced in 2019 when sport minister Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange announced that the velodrome at the National Stadium would be removed and a new one constructed at another section of the Independence Park facility, as part of the redevelopment plans for the National Stadium complex.
In 2022, General Manager of Independence Park Limited, Major Desmon Brown, said there were plans to increase the stadium capacity and the cycle track will be moved.
“We are going to take out the cycle track, which is no longer usable. That will give us more space and bring the spectators closer to the action,” Brown said in a Jamaica Information Service release.
He disclosed then that the outdated 500-metre cycle track that borders the running track inside the stadium would be replaced by a modern 250-metre velodrome.
“A modern velodrome has much steeper sides. It’s much smaller, about 250 to 300 metres. In fact, what we have to do now, when our athletes are training, [is] they have to be sent to either Cuba or Trinidad [and Tobago]. They can’t train on [the Stadium velodrome] because when they go on a proper velodrome, it is totally different,” he said.
Earlier this year, Grange disclosed that the renovation of the stadium would begin next year and that they would be building a new velodrome, and Palmer is hoping to see something positive soon.
“We have been lobbying the Government, and we have submitted a proposal for the construction of a new track. We are also lobbying for the construction of several development tracks,” Palmer said.
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