SOME of the best cyclists on the planet will be in action at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome next month when the Track World Cup comes to Glasgow.
The newly opened venue will host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, too, and a number of other top-class events should also take place there over the coming years.
But for the bulk of the time, this breathtaking new building just across the road from Celtic Park will be for everyone else to use. You don’t need your own bike or any real degree of expertise – just book a session and the qualified coaches will take care of the rest.
To prove the point, some of the country’s most respected journalists were invited along yesterday to try out the facilities. And so was I.
Some of us had not been on a bike for decades, and never on the sort of steeply banked track which is used in elite competition. And yet within ten minutes or so we were all cycling round happily, if not quite with the aura of finely tuned athletes, at least with the semblance of knowing what we were doing.
There is no denying that it is daunting at first. When you come out of the changing rooms and have your first look from below at those cured wooden boards, you think: ‘These are the walls, right? Tell me these are the walls.’
But of course they are not the walls, they’re the track. And what’s more, a track which is even steeper than usual – a couple of degrees more, for example, than the velodrome in Manchester where British Cycling is based.
Once you are up on the inside of the track itself, however, the fear starts to fade. It is on the flat, and ambling around its 250-metre circumference is reassuringly straightforward. You should take it easy at first, if only to get used to the fact that track bikes have no brakes, or gears, and that to slow down you have to push back on the pedals. But after a few introductory laps, you move on to the cote d’azur, the blue strip at the bottom of the racing track proper.
And from there, all you have to do to start rising up the banking is pick up your speed a bit.
Like any other physical activity, the fitter you are the more easily you will take to it, and the older you are the more time you may need to warm up.
But cycling is the most economical of sports in terms of energy expended, and you certainly do not need to be supremely fit in order to enjoy an outing on the track.
The vast majority of us who try out the venue over the next few years may never aspire to do anything more than have an enjoyable outing, but British Cycling are well aware that the more people they can introduce to the sport, the sooner they will find the next Chris Hoy or Laura Trott. Indeed, there are several examples from around the world of international-class cyclists who started off in the sport through a simple try-out session in a velodrome which just happened to be within easy reach of their own homes.
With that in mind, British Cycling, in partnership with Scottish Cycling and velodrome operators Glasgow Life, has launched a campaign to promote track cycling in the city.
The On Track to Glasgow initiative will see hundreds of local schoolchildren attend the opening day of the Track World Cup, while riders will visit schools throughout Glasgow to introduce other young people to the sport. Pop-up track bikes will also appear over the coming months around the city centre, giving people the chance to try out track cycling.
The event itself, which takes place from 16 to 18 November, sold out in about an hour, showing the enthusiasm that already exists in the city and further afield in Scotland. Hoy himself is taking a well-earned break from competition after the Olympics, and is looking forward to spectating for a change.
“A Track World Cup sell-out in Glasgow is fantastic for the sport and its legacy,” he said. “Following the GB team’s outstanding success at London 2012, and building on this legacy to Glasgow and through other British Cycling events taking place in Britain, I hope we can continue to inspire the next generation of track cyclists.
“Although I won’t be competing at the event in November, I’m looking forward to supporting the Glasgow schools legacy programme and I’ll be in the velodrome to cheer on the GB team.”
• For all the latest UCI Track Cycling World Cup Glasgow information visit www.track worldcup.co.uk. Don’t miss the action on the BBC from 16-18 November and follow it on Facebook and Twitter @TrackWorldCup #ontracktoglasgow. Further information about booking sessions at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome will also be available soon on the Track World Cup website.