British sprint legend Chris Hoy has called for a velodrome to be built in Northern Ireland so more local cycling talent can be discovered. He said without a velodrome in his home city of Edinburgh, he would not have gone on to become a champion on the track.
While there are frequent promises of a velodrome by the Irish Government, though the project in Dublin has been stalled for many years, a pledge of a velodrome for the North made over 10 years ago appears to have faded from memory.
Back in 2011 plans for a velodrome in Downpatrick, due
to cost £27 million, were abandoned due to budgetary issues and the proposal was
never pursued.
Hoy has now told the Belfast Telegraph that unless a velodrome was built in Northern Ireland the talent in the region would continue to go undiscovered.
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“The bottom line is without the facility,
you’ll never know the potential that you have for that sport unless you invest
in it,” he said of the region.
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“For me, there were lots of sliding doors moments, but one of
the biggest was having a facility in my home city to be able to have a go and
see that it was fun.
“In
Northern Ireland there’s been some incredible riders like Wendy Houvenaghel,
who was a team-mate of mine with Team GB for many years.
“She
was a machine with an incredible engine and brilliant in Individual Pursuit, Team
Pursuit and Road Time Trialling, and a world champion and Olympic medallist.
“Wendy
must have inspired a lot of cyclists in Northern Ireland seeing how well she
was performing and believing that they could do the same.
“With
Northern Ireland on the road you’ve got the Tour of the North and great history
in road cycling, but without the facility you’ll never know the potential you
have as a nation.”
