Cycling

New velodrome rising at Home Depot Center

Southern California has been a popular cycling site for many years and has, of course, hosted two Olympic cycling competitions in 1932 and 1984.

In 1932, the cycling events were held on a wooden track inside the giant Rose Bowl stadium, while the 1984 track races were held in a new, concrete velodrome built at California State University, Dominguez Hills. The 7-Eleven Olympic Velodrome was built in 1982, opened that year and continued to offer its 333 m oval for training and competition until it was demolished to make way for the Home Depot Center in 2001. A new, covered velodrome will rise on a slightly different site in 2004 as the final facility in the first phase of the Home Depot Center.

A 250 m outdoor velodrome has been active in Encino for many years and was completely refurbished in April 1987. It hosted the 1968 and 1972 national championships and the cycling competitions for the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival.

Olympic road races in Southern California were held in Mission Viejo for the individual road race and on the Artesia (91) Freeway for the team time trial.

Links

• Southern California Cycling

Quick Facts

• The new, 250 m velodrome at the Home Depot Center will be busy beginning as soon as it is completed in 2004. The UCI’s World Junior Championships will be held on the site in 2004 and the World Championships will be held there in 2005.