Editing Velodrome (section)

== History ==
The first velodromes were constructed during the late 1870s,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The History of Track Cycling|url=https://www.asgardsss.co.uk/blog/post/history-of-track-cycling|access-date=2022-01-05|website=www.asgardsss.co.uk|language=en}}</ref> the oldest of which is the [[Preston Park Velodrome]], [[Brighton]], United Kingdom, built in 1877 by the British Army.<ref name=":0" /> 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 was shallow. Reflecting the then-lack of international standards, sizes varied and not all were built as ovals: for example, Preston Park is {{convert|579|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and features four straights linked by banked curves, while the {{convert|536|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Portsmouth velodrome]], in [[Portsmouth]], has a single straight linked by one long curve. The oldest surviving regular velodrome two-straight oval tracks is from 1889, located in [[Brno_Velodrome|Brno]], Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaishar |first1=Josef |title=Velodrom |url=https://www.favoritbrno.cz/velodrom/ |website=TJ Favorit |access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> 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 {{convert|250|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} indoor track with a wooden surface.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-12-13|title=History of track cycling|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/get_involved/4261854.stm|access-date=2022-01-05}}</ref>

International competitions such as 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 {{convert|500|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} per lap, while [[Antwerp]]'s [[Vélodrome d'Anvers Zuremborg]], used in 1920, and [[Helsinki Velodrome]], used in 1952, were both {{convert|400|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. By the 1960s up to 1989, tracks of {{convert|333.33|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} length were commonly used for international competitions (e.g.: the [[Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome]] used for [[Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics|track cycling]] events at the [[1968 Summer Olympics]], and [[Leicester]]'s [[Saffron Lane sports centre|Saffron Lane velodrome]] used at the 1970 and 1982 [[UCI Track Cycling World Championships|Track Cycling World Championships]]). Since 1990, such events are usually held on velodromes with {{convert|250|m|ftin|2|abbr=on}} laps. [[Lee Valley VeloPark|London's 2012 Olympic velodrome]] and a [[Ashgabat Velodrome|new velodrome]] in [[Turkmenistan]]'s capital city [[Ashgabat]] both have a 250&nbsp;m track and a 6,000-seat spectator capacity.