Cycling: Velodrome
Velomania in the Northwest
By Yitka Winn
The Northwest is home to several of the nation’s most well-known and most beloved velodromes.
Redmond’s Marymoor Velodrome, Washington’s only velodrome, opened for racing over 35 years ago. Throughout the years, it has played host to the National Championships, the Sundance Grand Prix, regional Olympic Trails, the Goodwill Games, and a number of other championships that have brought in record crowds as big as 18,000.
Today, it is called the Group Health Velodrome and boasts a lighting system for evening racing, an infield warm-up circle, and excellent spectator space. The Marymoor Velodrome Association, or MVA, is a volunteer driven nonprofit devoted to managing the track’s 60+ races each summer, including the famous and family-friendly Friday Night Racing Series. It also features 70 days of cycling classes for adult and youth cyclists.
Marymoor is such a celebrity in the Velodrome world, it owns the website domain www.velodrome.org, where you can find a full calendar of events.
Portland’s Alpenrose Velodrome is perhaps most known for its 43-degree bank, one of the steepest in the country. (A more typical bank is between 20 and 30 degrees.)
Built originally to host the 1967 National Championships, Alpenrose’s Olympic size track has hosted many regional, national, and international championships over the years, including the only Six-Day race in North America and the famous Alpenrose Challenge, which offers a cash purse of $13,000.
Throughout the summer, Alpenrose hosts many workshops, clinics, and races, as well as Masters- and Juniors-specific track races, its popular Alpenrose Thursday series, and “Fast Twitch Fridays.” All events are managed by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA).
For a full schedule of events as well as race results and a pictorial history of Alpenrose’s 40+ year history and major renovations, visit OBRA’s Alpenrose website at www.obra.org/track. Or, to learn about the Cadonau family that built and owns the Velodrome, visit www.alpenrose.com.
