Barra Velodrome opens for Rio 2007
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 11 – In the opinion of leaders and Brazilian bikers, the most modern velodrome in Latin America was opened Wednesday, July 11. First indoor track in the country, the Velodrome in the City of Sports Complex in Barra, is a major accomplishment for Brazilian cycling and it will be where cycling and speed skating competitions will take place at RIO 2007.
The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Cesar Maia; the president of RioUrbe (company which was responsible for the construction of the venue) João Luiz Reis; and the president of the Brazilian Cycling Confederation, José Luiz Vasconcelos attended the opening ceremony.
“There’s nothing like this velodrome in Latin America. Ieda Botelho (president of the Rio de Janeiro Cycling Federation) told me that by making use of this sort of equipment our athletes will be able to compete with athletes from anywhere in the world in five year’s time. Brazilian cyclists had never been able to do that beforehand, because we didn’t have the necessary equipment. Now they will be able to", said César Maia.
The two-time Pan American Cycling Champion Ieda Botelho agrees with the Mayor. After all, there were only three other velodromes in Brazil, two in São Paulo and one in Paraná.
“This track is the best one in the world. It’s close to being an Olympic track. We have gone a long way. We built a top notch track using Dutch technology”, she said.
In order for the velodrome to fall under "Olympic category", it needs to acquire a heating/air conditioning system, and it should be able to hold 5,000 people (it’s now able to hold 1,500).
“We expect that the velodrome will be able to hold Olympic competitions in 4 years", she said. Ieda went on to say that the venue will hold some of the World Cup 2009 competitions.
The opening ceremony was touching. At a certain point, water fell from the ceiling onto an area but it didn’t affect the track itself. The Mayor went on to inaugurate a plaque on which are written the names of all the people who helped build the venue. After that, the Brazilian athletes went on the track holding the Brazilian national flag and the national anthem was sung. For the track’s debut, Ieda Botelho went around it holding the Rio de Janeiro flag.
Later on, three competitions took place: women's 500m, men's 500m and a scratch demonstration. The Cuban Arianna Herrera won the first race (32s96). The Brazilians Janildes Ferreira (34s77) and Camila Pinheiro (36s73) also got on the podium. The Cuban Julio Cezar Herrera won first place, completing the track in 28s75. His fellow country man Yunier Alvarez arrived second place at 29s54, and the Brazilian Fernando Firmino finished third place (30s31).
The Brazilian Rodrigo de Melo Brito won the last race, o Morcegão. He was the first one to complete the24laps, a total of 6 km. The Dominican Wendy Cruz Martinez got the silver medal and Roberson Figueiredo (from Parana) Robinho, arrived third place. Among the other competitors was the Uruguayan Milton Winantys (Sydney 2000 silver-medalist). The Mayor awarded the medals to the athletes afterwards.
“This will be a milestone in the history of Brazilian cycling and I'll be part of it as the first person to ever win a race at this fantastic velodrome. I'd never seen anything like it. Besides it's in Rio, a city I love”, said Morcegão, who will participate in a competition in Madison, scheduled to take place 19 July. It will be 50 km (or 200 laps) in double. There are checkpoints every 20 laps which account for points. Morcegão will run side by side with the veteran Hernandes Quadri Júnior, 40 years old, who conquered the bronze medal at the Pan American Games Mar del Plata 1995.
The track cycling competition will take place 16 to 19 July, whereas the speed skating competitions are scheduled for the 24 and 25 July. Fifteen million reais were invested in the construction of the Barra Velodrome, in items such as Siberian pine track, imported from the Netherlands, built by the same manufacturer of the track used at the Olympic Games Athens 2004.
GOOOOO BRASILLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 11 – In the opinion of leaders and Brazilian bikers, the most modern velodrome in Latin America was opened Wednesday, July 11. First indoor track in the country, the Velodrome in the City of Sports Complex in Barra, is a major accomplishment for Brazilian cycling and it will be where cycling and speed skating competitions will take place at RIO 2007.
The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Cesar Maia; the president of RioUrbe (company which was responsible for the construction of the venue) João Luiz Reis; and the president of the Brazilian Cycling Confederation, José Luiz Vasconcelos attended the opening ceremony.
“There’s nothing like this velodrome in Latin America. Ieda Botelho (president of the Rio de Janeiro Cycling Federation) told me that by making use of this sort of equipment our athletes will be able to compete with athletes from anywhere in the world in five year’s time. Brazilian cyclists had never been able to do that beforehand, because we didn’t have the necessary equipment. Now they will be able to", said César Maia.
The two-time Pan American Cycling Champion Ieda Botelho agrees with the Mayor. After all, there were only three other velodromes in Brazil, two in São Paulo and one in Paraná.
“This track is the best one in the world. It’s close to being an Olympic track. We have gone a long way. We built a top notch track using Dutch technology”, she said.
In order for the velodrome to fall under "Olympic category", it needs to acquire a heating/air conditioning system, and it should be able to hold 5,000 people (it’s now able to hold 1,500).
“We expect that the velodrome will be able to hold Olympic competitions in 4 years", she said. Ieda went on to say that the venue will hold some of the World Cup 2009 competitions.
The opening ceremony was touching. At a certain point, water fell from the ceiling onto an area but it didn’t affect the track itself. The Mayor went on to inaugurate a plaque on which are written the names of all the people who helped build the venue. After that, the Brazilian athletes went on the track holding the Brazilian national flag and the national anthem was sung. For the track’s debut, Ieda Botelho went around it holding the Rio de Janeiro flag.
Later on, three competitions took place: women's 500m, men's 500m and a scratch demonstration. The Cuban Arianna Herrera won the first race (32s96). The Brazilians Janildes Ferreira (34s77) and Camila Pinheiro (36s73) also got on the podium. The Cuban Julio Cezar Herrera won first place, completing the track in 28s75. His fellow country man Yunier Alvarez arrived second place at 29s54, and the Brazilian Fernando Firmino finished third place (30s31).
The Brazilian Rodrigo de Melo Brito won the last race, o Morcegão. He was the first one to complete the24laps, a total of 6 km. The Dominican Wendy Cruz Martinez got the silver medal and Roberson Figueiredo (from Parana) Robinho, arrived third place. Among the other competitors was the Uruguayan Milton Winantys (Sydney 2000 silver-medalist). The Mayor awarded the medals to the athletes afterwards.
“This will be a milestone in the history of Brazilian cycling and I'll be part of it as the first person to ever win a race at this fantastic velodrome. I'd never seen anything like it. Besides it's in Rio, a city I love”, said Morcegão, who will participate in a competition in Madison, scheduled to take place 19 July. It will be 50 km (or 200 laps) in double. There are checkpoints every 20 laps which account for points. Morcegão will run side by side with the veteran Hernandes Quadri Júnior, 40 years old, who conquered the bronze medal at the Pan American Games Mar del Plata 1995.
The track cycling competition will take place 16 to 19 July, whereas the speed skating competitions are scheduled for the 24 and 25 July. Fifteen million reais were invested in the construction of the Barra Velodrome, in items such as Siberian pine track, imported from the Netherlands, built by the same manufacturer of the track used at the Olympic Games Athens 2004.
GOOOOO BRASILLLLLLL!!!!!!!!
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