The troubled velodrome in the Rio Olympic Park appears to be ready for action, with the Australian track team giving the the venue the thumbs up.
Team GB’s cyclists are still training in south Wales, but the Australians have flown to South America early to acclimatise and try out the track, which was only completed in June.
Sprinter Patrick Constable gave the new track a glowing review after the team’s latest training session ahead of the Games. Track cycling begins on August 11.
“I think the general consensus is it is a pretty good track, it transitions well, really smooth to ride and they’ve done a good job building it,” he told Olympics.com.au.
“The thinking going into this one was the dust may have been an issue as it’s just been constructed, but we’ve come off that session and had no issues. That will get better still as we progress to the Olympics.
“Every track is different to ride but this is definitely a nice one.”
Issues with contractors meant that the velodrome was the last Olympic venue to be completed. Australia are tipped to feature prominently in the track cycling events, with the team pursuit squad tipped for a final match-up with Great Britain.
Constable’s teammate Matthew Glaetzer is one of the favourites to defeat defending champion Jason Kenny in the individual sprint, while the evergreen Anna Meares is the rider to beat in the women’s keirin.
