Commonwealth Games velodrome awaits certification

As the clock ticks ever closer to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi on October 3, the Times of India reports that completion of the velodrome complex appears to be going down to the wire.

The venue, which has yet  to receive the requisite structural safety certificate from civic authorirties, is one of several Games facilities exposed as suffering from questionable build quality by a period of intense Monsoon rainfall earlier in the summer. With rain dripping into the cycling complex, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) admitted that the possibility of water damaging the cycling track at the Indira Gandhi Complex was a serious concern.

"It was major source of worry because if the floor gets damaged, we can't have the event,” HS Kingra, Sports Authority of India's special officer for infrastructure, told the Times of India.

Construction of the 3,800 seat velodrome fell behind schedule partly as result of Games’ organisers being required to change the specification from a concrete to a wooden track part way through the build.
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The cycling programme at the Games has also suffered from the withdrawal by high-profile stars including Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy and Vicky Pendleton. The latter pair opted out of the Games in favour of the European Track Championships which count towards qualification for the London Olympics in two years’ time while the Commonwealth event does not.