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60-464: The Herne Hill Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome in Herne Hill , in south London . It is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world, having been built in 1891. It hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics and was briefly the home of Crystal Palace Football Club during World War I . Between 1987, when the track at Paddington Recreation Ground was demolished, and 2011, when

120-413: A 250 m track and a 6,000-seat spectator capacity. Banking in the turns, called cant , allows riders to keep their bikes relatively perpendicular to the surface while riding at speed. When travelling through the turns at racing speed, which may exceed 85 km/h (52.8 mph), the banking attempts to match the natural lean of a bicycle moving through that curve. At the ideal speed, the net force of

180-404: A different arrangement of lines to suit their facility and to assist riders in holding a straight line and in avoiding drifting onto the flatter section below the bankings where they risk their tyres sliding out. Between the infield (sometimes referred to as an apron) and the actual track is the blue band (called "côte d'azur") which is typically 10% of the surface. The blue band is not technically

240-529: A gun battery. Weeds grew waist-high through cracks in the surface and along the track's edges by 1942. A. P. Chamberlin, secretary of the NCU, said: "The crevices between the concrete slabs of the track are covered with all kinds of growth, and I found it impossible to uproot small trees that were growing. In the back straight a luxurious grape vine has assumed interesting proportions." Work started that year to restore it to make it ready by 1943. The organising committee of

300-613: A new site south of the Thames. He found an area off Burbage Road in Herne Hill and leased it from Dulwich College Trustees. Work on the new track was undertaken by W. and J. Peacock, a building company sympathetic to cycling. It started in September 1890 and finished, ahead of schedule, in March 1891. The first race, open only to members of the Herne Hill club, was on 16 April 1891. The first open meeting

360-423: A part of the track; although it is not illegal to ride there, moving into it to shortcut another rider results in disqualification. During time trials, pursuits or other timed events, the blue band is obstructed with sponges or other objects. The blue band is a warning to cyclists that they may scrape their pedal along the infield when in a curve, which can easily result in a crash. 20 centimetres (7.9 in) above

420-596: A ribbon-cutting ceremony carried out by Union Cycliste Internationale President Brian Cookson . Velodrome The first velodromes were constructed during the late 1870s, the oldest of which is the Preston Park Velodrome , Brighton , United Kingdom, built in 1877 by the British Army. Some were purpose-built just for cycling, and others were built as part of facilities for other sports; many were built around athletics tracks or other grounds and any banking

480-694: A six-day in Denmark but I didn't fancy it and I suppose it was a silly thing to have stayed on the road. British cycling in Bedwell's time was in a civil war between the National Cyclists' Union and the Road Time Trials Council on one side and a newer body, the British League of Racing Cyclists , on the other. The BLRC began during the second world war to promote the massed racing on public roads that

540-457: Is 0.2 miles or 321.9 m. Velodrome tracks can be surfaced with different materials, including timber, synthetics and concrete. Shorter, newer, and Olympic quality tracks tend to be timber or synthetics; longer, older, or inexpensive tracks are concrete, macadam, or even cinder. Important cycling events are usually held on tracks which have lines laid out in a specified arrangement. Some other tracks also follow these protocols, but others have

600-438: Is called the easement spiral or transition. It allows bicycles to follow the track around the corner at a constant radial position. Thus riders can concentrate on tactics rather than steering. Bicycles for velodromes, better known as track bicycles , have no brakes. They employ a single fixed rear gear, or cog, that does not freewheel. This helps maximise speed, reduces weight, and avoids sudden braking while nevertheless allowing

660-570: Is from 1889, located in Brno , Czech Republic. Early surfaces included cinders or shale, though concrete, asphalt and tarmac later became more common. Indoor velodromes were also common particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century. For example, the Vélodrome d'hiver was built in Paris in 1909 and featured a 250 m (820.2 ft) indoor track with a wooden surface. International competitions such as

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720-576: Is measured along a line 20 cm (7.9 in) up from the bottom. Olympic and World Championship velodromes must measure 250 m (820 ft). Other events on the UCI International Calendar may be held in velodromes that measure between 133 and 500 m (436 and 1,640 ft) inclusive, with a length such that a whole or half number of laps give a distance of 1 km (0.62 mi). The velodrome at Calshot in Hampshire , England,

780-680: Is only 142 m (466 ft) and has especially steep banking because it was built to fit inside an aircraft hangar . The Forest City Velodrome in London, Ontario , Canada, is the world's shortest at 138 m (453 ft). Built to fit a hockey arena, it too has steep banking. The smaller the track, the steeper the banking. A 250 m (820 ft) track banks around 45°, while a 333.33 m (1,093.6 ft) track banks around 32°. Some older velodromes were built to imperial standards . The Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point, Georgia , United States,

840-403: Is reluctant to do. The estate, which also owns the land of some of the area’s prestigious public schools such as Dulwich College and Alleyn's School , is legally required to get the best return on its investment for benefactors. However, it also has a commitment to community upkeep." A supporter of the campaign was Olympic gold medallist Bradley Wiggins , who started racing at Herne Hill when he

900-414: Is the original one dating from 1891, it has now (2016) been demolished and replaced with a new structure. In the 1890s there was a cinder athletics track inside the cycle track, and tennis courts within that. The tennis courts later became the site of a football/rugby pitch, but the track centre is now only used for cyclo-cross races. The Velodrome was home of Crystal Palace F.C. from 1914 until 1918, when

960-550: The Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome used for track cycling events at the 1968 Summer Olympics , and Leicester 's Saffron Lane velodrome used at the 1970 and 1982 Track Cycling World Championships ). Since 1990, such events are usually held on velodromes with 250 m (820 ft 2.52 in) laps. London's 2012 Olympic velodrome and a new velodrome in Turkmenistan 's capital city Ashgabat both have

1020-535: The London Borough of Havering – 28 February 1999, Kingskerswell , Devon ) was one of Great Britain's most accomplished racing cyclists in the 1950s, known as the "Iron Man" of cycling. He won four stages in the first Tour of Britain , rode for Britain in the world professional road championship in 1953 and 1956 and rode for Britain in the Tour de France . Bedwell, who was 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall, lived on

1080-703: The London Velopark for the 2012 Summer Olympics opened, Herne Hill was the only track in London. Herne Hill was originally named the London County Grounds, the track of the London County Cycling and Athletic Club. It became popularly known as Herne Hill track or velodrome after its position just off Burbage Road, in Herne Hill , part of the London Borough of Southwark . The velodrome was founded by George Hillier , an amateur racer, in 1891. Before then

1140-564: The Olympic Games led to more standardisation: two-straight oval tracks quickly became the norm, and gradually lap lengths reduced. The Vélodrome de Vincennes , used for the 1900 (and 1924) Games was 500 m (1,640 ft) per lap, while Antwerp 's Vélodrome d'Anvers Zuremborg , used in 1920, and Helsinki Velodrome , used in 1952, were both 400 m (1,312 ft). By the 1960s up to 1989, tracks of 333.33 m (1,094 ft) length were commonly used for international competitions (e.g.:

1200-626: The Surrey Senior Cup finals in 1906 and 1909. London Irish was the first rugby club to be based at the Velodrome. It was the club's first home ground from 1898 to 1902. London Welsh Rugby Club had their home at the Velodrome for 40 years after World War I , until moving to a new home in Old Deer Park in Richmond in 1957. The stadium was also used for motor cycle events pre WWI. As part of

1260-583: The Tour of Britain along with seven of its daily stages. Bedwell's most spectacular stage was the last. It lasted 127 miles from Bournemouth to Alexandra Palace in north London. If Bedwell won the stage, he would move from seventh to third, behind the Frenchman Eugène Tamburlini and the British rider, Brian Robinson . The race skirted London on the North Circular Road , the northern half of

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1320-480: The centrifugal force (outward) and gravity (downward) is angled down through the bicycle, perpendicular to the riding surface. Riders are not always travelling at full speed or at a specific radius. Most events have riders all over the track. Team races (like the Madison ) have some riders at speed and others riding more slowly. In match sprints riders may come to a stop by performing a track stand in which they balance

1380-505: The 1948 Olympic Games chose it as "the only suitable" track. It said "considerable work would have to be carried out to bring the arena, both from a competition and a spectator point of view, up to the required standard for Olympic events." The track was repaired, permanent stands were built - the only permanent construction work carried out by the Games organisers - and the approach roads and turnstiles were improved and extended. A temporary stand

1440-426: The 1950s and 1960s. The future of the track then became less certain. A campaign was fought to retain it during the early 2000s following a dispute between the landlord, Dulwich Estate , and the leaseholder, Southwark Council. A feature, said the journalist Richard Williams , was "a lease long enough to make it worthwhile to undertake the necessary refurbishment of the grandstand, which is closed for safety reasons, and

1500-466: The 450‑metre track itself." Bill Wright of British Cycling , formed by the merger of the National Cyclists Union with the British League of Racing Cyclists in the 1950s, said: "The problem is that the venue is underfunded and deteriorating, and desperately in need of refurbishment but cannot get the investment it needs unless landlords Dulwich Estate renew their lease, something Dulwich Estate

1560-535: The Southwark Olympic Legacy Project work began on the upgrade of the Velodrome in February 2013. The first phase included the construction of a new Junior 250m track, a hardstanding area for warming up and to hold activities like bike-ability, bike polo and non-conventional bikes (e.g. handbikes and other cycles used by Wheels for Wellbeing) and installation of floodlights for longer training sessions in

1620-476: The all-London junior sprint championship at Paddington track. He said: Looking back, that is what I should have done – pure sprinting – and I could have made a lot of money. When I was racing at the world championships in Cologne in 1954 they timed me doing an 11.4 [seconds] for the last 200 metres, although I don't know how accurate that was. I once beat Reg Harris in the sprint in a devil. I had an offer to ride

1680-436: The bicycle on the sloped surface while keeping their feet locked into the pedals. For these reasons, the banking tends to be 10 to 15 degrees less than physics predicts. Also, the straights are banked 10 to 15 degrees more than physics would predict. These compromises make the track ridable at a range of speeds. From the straight, the curve of the track increases gradually into the circular turn. This section of decreasing radius

1740-413: The blue band is the black measurement line. The inner edge of this 5 centimetres (2.0 in) line defines the length of the track. 90 centimetres (35 in) above the inside of the track is the outside of the 5 cm wide red sprinter 's line. The zone between black and red lines is sprinter's lane, which is the optimum route around the track. A rider leading in the sprinter's lane may not be passed on

1800-549: The city's ring road. Bob Maitland of the BSA team and Henri Guldemont of Belgium had a lead on the field of 400 metres. Bedwell reached them in the park of Alexandra Palace, sprinted past them and collapsed on the grass from his effort. Bedwell joined Buttle and the rest of the Hercules team when it went to Les Issambres, in south-west France, to prepare for the Tour de France of 1955. Hercules

1860-540: The club then moved to The Nest opposite Selhurst Station. Crystal Palace were forced by the Admiralty to leave Crystal Palace Football Stadium and move to the Velodrome due to the Crystal Palace being commandeered for World War I training purposes. Typically Crystal Palace FC drew crowds of 3,000 – 4,000. The FA Amateur Cup final in 1911, between Bromley and Bishop Auckland , was also played at Herne Hill as well as

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1920-507: The deciding third heat of the tandem final being held at nine o'clock. It was so dark when the two tandem pairs lined up for the final run that the Italians, in their blue racing vests, were invisible against the background of spectators. To put two tandems on the track under such conditions was a disgrace. The light was so poor that the photo-finish camera did not work and judges told photographers not to use flash for fear of harming both their and

1980-546: The end of the 19th century. From 1903 it was the venue for the Good Friday meeting organised by the Southern Counties Cycle Union. World champions have performed at Good Friday meetings, which during the 1920s and 1930s attracted attendances of 10,000. National and world records have been established there – Norwood Paragon's Frank Southall was a notable record-breaker in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1936

2040-500: The end of the Tour. Bedwell rode unsponsored for two years, living off prizes in Belgium . Bedwell's shortness meant he rode a 19 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch frame, unusually small. He said: "I had to design my own. My angles would be 72 head, 74 seat, with two-inch offset forks, 20-inch top tube, 17-inch stays. I used a close-ratio block. The 13 was the smallest cog I used and 53×13 the biggest gear. I went up Porlock hill on 49×28 which

2100-931: The finish. There are a variety of formats in velodrome races. A typical event will consist of several races of varying distances and structures. Common types of races include: Team Sprint, sprint, Keirin, Kilo and flying laps are generally considered 'sprinters' races, which in track cycling equate to extremely powerful, muscular riders over short distances, resulting in some historic overlap between BMX riders and track sprinters, such as Chris Hoy . The other events are considered endurance events for riders with less outright power but greater aerobic ability, and such events have historically enjoyed an overlap with elite road racers, including road sprinters such as Mark Cavendish and Elia Viviani , Grand Tour legends Eddy Merckx , Fausto Coppi and more recent Tour de France winners Bradley Wiggins and Geraint Thomas . Dave Bedwell Dave Bedwell (28 August 1928, Romford , Essex, now

2160-619: The front of the bunch, they all put their gears up. Bedwell won the BLRC road championship in his first year and then took an independent, or semi-professional, licence to ride for Frejus Cycles, a continental company selling bikes in Britain. Bedwell said: "This was not so surprising as it would be nowadays. Since the League were outlawed, their titles were unofficial and there were no selections to be gained by staying amateur. The big idea of League boys

2220-554: The inside; other riders must pass on the longer outside route. Minimum 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) (or half the track width) above the inside of the track is the blue stayer's line. This line serves in races behind motorbikes as a separation line. Stayers below the blue line may not be overtaken on the inside. In Madison races (named after six-day races at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, and also known as "the American"),

2280-542: The leading venue had been at nearby Crystal Palace . Crystal Palace, however, had no banking and a poor surface and supporters favoured a track which opened north of the Thames in Paddington , in 1888. Hillier had been a leading light at Crystal Palace and tried to persuade the owners, the Crystal Palace Company, to win back the supporters and racers by redesigning the track. The company declined and Hillier looked for

2340-406: The next one, then sprinting again, the freewheeling stretches getting shorter and shorter. We could keep it up for, maybe, four or five sprints, but tough Dave could keep going at it for mile after mile. And yet, on other rides, Dave would plod along at such a slow pace that you'd think he would need stabilisers to stop from falling off for loss of momentum." Sprinting was really my speciality and I

2400-440: The opening day at Herne Hill. Greatest oversight was the omission of any form of opening ceremony. The sparse crowd of 3,000 which gathered to watch the two-hour morning racing session received a lukewarm greeting over the loudspeakers and were then immediately given the draw of the 1,000m sprint. The racing was reported as good but the organisation poor: The worst organisation of the entire XIVth Olympiad cycling events resulted in

2460-513: The other two organisations feared would bring police opposition to all cycling. Bedwell joined the Romford Wheelers, which was affiliated to the NCU. In its colours he rode massed races on the airfield at Stapleford Tawney but preferred the idea of racing on the road with the BLRC and formed his own club, the Romford RCC, to do it. His Romford Wheelers clubmate, Jack Leeth, recalled: "Dave

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2520-524: The outskirts of London, in Romford , now part of Havering . His family were cyclists but Bedwell was more interested in swimming. He began cycling as a way to get to water. He bought a bike from a local dealer, Rory O'Brien, and turned to cycling instead. He rode time trials and raced on grass tracks, winning the Essex five-mile championship as an under-18 and then as a senior. He won the title three times as well as

2580-410: The promoters announced that the meeting would be moved to London Velopark from 2014. Despite this plans for a new Good Friday meeting at Herne Hill were released, focusing on inter-schools racing, disability cycling, women-only groups, under-eights and over-40s. The National Cyclists Union leased Herne Hill for 21 years from 25 March 1942. It had been damaged during the war when the site was used for

2640-404: The race after three days, told he was outside the time limit when he wasn't but happy nevertheless to drop out. He said: I had punctured twice and was going nice and steady when I was talked into it by Bev Woods [a team-mate], who told me I was well outside the time limit, but I was well inside. I didn't know until the next day that they would let everyone start, even those who had finished outside

2700-549: The racers' night vision. The National Cyclists' Union opened what became known as a professional circus there in May 1952, under the track's manager, John Dennis. The plan was to bring crowds to the track, making it profitable, and to establish professional racing in Britain. Among those who took professional licenses was a prominent road rider, Dave Bedwell The track held meetings featuring star internationals such as Jacques Anquetil , Fausto Coppi , Reg Harris and Tom Simpson during

2760-451: The rider to slow by pushing back against the pedals. Modern velodromes are constructed by specialised designers. The Schuermann architects in Germany have built more than 125 tracks worldwide. Most of Schuermann's outdoor tracks are made of wood trusswork with a surface of strips of the rare rain-forest wood Afzelia . Indoor velodromes are built with less expensive pine surfaces. The track

2820-409: The tandem pairing from Addiscombe C.C. - Ernie Mills and Bill Paul set a world best of 30 miles 793 yards, unpaced in one hour, although no tandem figures were recognised by the governing body at that time. The deterioration of the velodrome and poor weather resulting in the cancellation of the 2010 meeting led to the promoters relocating the event to Manchester Velodrome for 2011. Subsequently,

2880-412: The team's relief rider rests above the stayer's line by riding slowly until his or her teammate comes around the track and throws him or her back into the race. The finish line is black on a wide white band and near the end of the home straight. Red lines are marked in the exact centre of each straight as start and finish line for pursuit races. A white 200 m line marks 200 metres (660 ft) before

2940-449: The time limit. I wasn't really interested in riding the Tour and I should have had the courage to say no. Another year, I would have been keen to ride. I had a medical test before the start and they said I had heart trouble, that didn't leave me with much morale for the race. Only Brian Robinson and Tony Hoar of the British team completed the race, the first Britons to do so. Hercules and other sponsors pulled out of sponsorship weeks after

3000-584: The winter. A £200,000 grant from British Cycling allowed the track to be resurfaced, and £1.5 million was secured from Sport England and the London Marathon Trust for the construction of a new pavilion, which began in April 2016 and was completed in 2017. The pavilion, designed by Mike Taylor of Hopkins Architects (who also designed the London Olympic Velodrome), was opened in March 2017 with

3060-420: Was 12. The campaign has also attracted support from British racing cyclists Victoria Pendleton and Ben Swift , as well as local residents Jo Brand and James Nesbitt . Unlike a modern Olympic velodrome (which will have an inner circumference of 250m, and banking of about 45°), Herne Hill is a shallow concrete bowl measuring approximately 450m with the steepest banking 18°. The grandstand shown in this photo

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3120-455: Was Britain's largest professional team and it was certain that riders for the national team would be drawn from it. The team rode the early-season races along the Côte d'Azur that riders used for training. Bedwell finished second to Jacques Anquetil at Fréjus , just ahead of Jean Stablinski . The following day he outsprinted Anquetil for third place at Marseille . In the Tour, however, Bedwell left

3180-542: Was a moderate climber, although I was the best in the country on steep hills. I won the Tour of the Peak three times, and when I won the king of the mountains in the Tour of Britain I could sprint at the top of the climbs. Surprisingly, I went better in the Lake District as I preferred hills with a steep bit at the top rather than the ones that levelled out. I never sat in, although I was accused of it sometimes. Every time I got to

3240-490: Was built in the back straight for journalists, who had 12 telephone boxes to report to the world. A small scoreboard was also put up, which the crowd "fully appreciated." The cycling press said it was disappointed that the Games opened at Herne Hill without ceremony: What a strange nation we British are! The greatest cycling festival of this century—the XIVth Olympiad—might well have been an ordinary track promotion on

3300-587: Was demobbed from the RAF around 1948. He lived in the Bedwell family home in Carlton Road, Romford , a cycling household with its own fitness room. Dave already had a reputation as a great cyclist and was into healthy eating." Another local cyclist, Roger St Pierre, said: "They didn't come any tougher than this stocky man whose thighs seemed thicker than his legs were long. He effectively invented interval training for cyclists: sprinting between telephone poles, freewheeling to

3360-468: Was on 23 May that same year. The circuit was designed with 5 ft bankings which were later raised. The original surface was red shale, which needed repeated rolling. It was replaced in 1893 by wooden slats, which led to fast racing but frequent crashes after rain. Concrete was laid instead in 1896. Many records were beaten on the track, which reached a peak of popularity with the Cuca Cup 24-hour races at

3420-467: Was shallow. Reflecting the then-lack of international standards, sizes varied and not all were built as ovals: for example, Preston Park is 579 m (1,900 ft) long and features four straights linked by banked curves, while the 536 m (1,759 ft) Portsmouth velodrome , in Portsmouth , has a single straight linked by one long curve. The oldest surviving regular velodrome two-straight oval tracks

3480-545: Was still hard and I would use 52×16 for sprinting, and 92-inch for the track, although I can't remember how we arrived at it as we would use inch-pitch rings and sprockets and a block chain. It was more rigid and gave better acceleration." Bedwell moved to Paignton , Devon, and built wheels in a cycle shop owned by another former Tour de France rider, Colin Lewis . He took up canoeing and surfing . He said he missed Essex even 20 years later. He said: "There are certain things, like

3540-478: Was that the experience would help British riders break through on the continent. They competed every other week, individually and in pairs. Bedwell's partner was another Londoner, Derek Buttle. There were more than 20 professional riders in Britain. Buttle and Bedwell rode for Claud Butler , a London cycle company. But money was limited and Buttle arranged sponsorship from Hercules Cycles for them, Dennis Talbot and Clive Parker. The team expanded and in 1954 it won

3600-519: Was to get a professional class going." Bedwell won London-Battle-London and Dover-London in his first years. He was chosen by the BLRC in 1951 to ride the Grand Prix de l'Humanité in France. He won. He became a full professional in 1952, moving back to the NCU so that he could ride a new series of pro races started at Herne Hill velodrome by a journalist, Johnny Dennis, of The Bicycle . Dennis's idea

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