Valley Preferred Cycling Center

Last updated

VPCC
Lehigh Valley Velodrome
The Velodrome
Valley Preferred Cycling Center Logo.jpg
The valley preferred cycling center front entrance.jpg
Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, March 2014
Valley Preferred Cycling Center
Full nameThe Valley Preferred Cycling Center
Location1151 Mosser Rd, Breinigsville, Pennsylvania 18031
Coordinates 40°32′51″N75°36′38″W / 40.54750°N 75.61056°W / 40.54750; -75.61056
OperatorVelodrome Fund., Inc (501(c)(3)) [1]
Capacity 2,500
Field size333 m or 1,093 ft track
SurfaceConcrete with a concrete apron
Construction
Broke ground1974 (1974)
OpenedAugust 1975 (1975-August)
Expanded1995 (1995)
Tenants
  • Lehigh Valley Cycling Club
  • T-Town Elite
  • Individual Olympic cyclists
Website
www.thevelodrome.com

The Valley Preferred Cycling Center (VPCC), also known as the Lehigh Valley Velodrome or simply T-Town, is a professional cycling center and a velodrome located in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania. It serves as the Lehigh Valley's main track cycling stadium. The velodrome is operated by Velodrome Fund, a non-profit organization. [1] that promotes competitive cycling, youth fitness, and adult wellness activities for the Lehigh Valley.

Contents

The velodrome has hosted various cycling championships. VPCC is the home of the World Series of Bicycling. The Velodrome annually hosts the USA Cycling Elite Nationals qualifying event. The center also features a Cycling Hall of Fame. Over the past 40 years, the center introduced tens of thousands of people to cycling, producing over 140 national champions, seven world champions, and three Olympic medalists. [2]

History

Cyclists practice at Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania Cyclists on the valley preferred cycling center track 2.jpg
Cyclists practice at Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania

The velodrome was launched in the early 1970s by Robert Rodale, publisher of Rodale, Inc. in nearby Emmaus. [3] Rodale became interested in cycling while competing in the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg, Canada in 1967. [4] In 1974 construction broke ground on the plot of land that was owned by Bob Rodale and his wife, Ardath. [3] The first race was held on October 12, 1975. The Velodrome was originally called the Lehigh County Velodrome or simply T-town, due to its close proximity to Trexlertown. The center underwent a number of renovations which added rest rooms, seats for the fans, a podium, showers, and changing rooms.

In 1995, the center underwent a major $2.5M renovations in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics cycling trials. [5] In 2008, extensive repairs and resurfacing were done to the Velodrome. [6]

In 2007, Valley Preferred Health Network bought the naming rights to the center, and the velodrome's name became Valley Preferred Cycling Center. [7]

In 2008, the town of Breinigsville offered land to expand the center to include a hall of fame. [8] Today, the center is part of a 103-acre Bob Rodale Cycling and Fitness Park.

Competitions

The center hosted various competitions over the years including the UCI Track Cycling World Cup and the UCI Juniors Track World Championships. It is the home of the World Series of Bicycling, a series of races every Friday night between Memorial Day and Labor Day and the annual USA Cycling Elite Nationals qualifying event. Additionally many other smaller regional, national championships and international competitions also take place, bringing many track cyclists from across North and South America. Most recently, the VPCC hosted the 2016 USA Cycling Elite and Junior National Track Championships. [9]

VPCC offers a variety of free or low-cost community cycling programs designed to introduce the public to the sport of track cycling, including Try the Track, the spring and fall Bicycling Racing League, and Air Products Development Program.

Specifications

The velodrome is outdoor and uncovered. The track is 1093.6 ft (333.3 m) in length with a concrete surface. The track has 30-degree banked turns and 12.5-degree straightaways. [6] At the bottom of the track is an 8 feet (2.4 m) concrete apron. Time trial lines are painted on the track as well. [6]

Valley preferred cycling center panorama.jpg
View of the track

Cycling Hall of Fame

Main seating area of Valley Preferred Cycling Center Valley preferred cycling center seating.jpg
Main seating area of Valley Preferred Cycling Center

The Lehigh Valley Velodrome houses a Cycling Hall of Fame. [10] Members of the hall of fame include:

VeloFest

VeloFest is the largest cycling marketplace in the United States. [12] [13] It's held twice a year in May and October on the infield of the Valley Preferred Cycling Center. The flea market features hundreds of vendors with thousands of cycling enthusiasts visiting each year. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Track cycling</span> Bicycle racing sport

Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keirin</span> Form of motor-paced cycle racing

Keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorized or non-motorized pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gambling purposes and became an official event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Cycliste Internationale</span> International governing body of cycling

The International Cycling Union is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Velodrome</span> Cycle-racing track in Manchester, England

Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nation's rise to track cycling dominance at World and Olympic level. The velodrome was also home to UCI ProTeam Ineos Grenadiers, formerly known as Team Sky between 2010 and 2019, a period when the team won 6 Tour de France, 2 Vuelta a Espana and 1 Giro d'Italia with Great Britain riders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Cycling</span> Governing body for cycling sport in Great Britain

British Cycling is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. As of 2020, it has a total membership of 165,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breinigsville, Pennsylvania</span> Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Breinigsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 7,495. The town is part of Upper Macungie Township and is located approximately 11 miles (18 km) southwest of downtown Allentown and 8 miles (13 km) east of Kutztown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Valley VeloPark</span> Velodrome in Stratford, London, England

Lee Valley VeloPark is a cycling centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London, England. It is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, and it was opened to the public in March 2014. The facility was one of the permanent venues for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Dunlap</span> American cyclist

Alison Dunlap is an American professional cyclist. She won the world cross-country mountain bike championship in 2001 and two Mountain Bike World Cup races. She also won the Redlands Bicycle Classic on the road in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velodromo Vigorelli</span> Velodrome in Milan, Italy

Velodromo Vigorelli is a 397-metre semi-covered velodrome in Milan, Italy. It is currently used mostly for American football events; surrounded by the track, there is a standard size football field in synthetic turf. In 2013 it was the home of the IFAF European Football Championship. It is currently the home stadium for the football teams Seamen Milano and Rhinos Milano.

Nicole Louise Reinhart was an American professional track and road racing cyclist who twice won gold medals in cycling at the Pan American Games.

Martin Wayne Nothstein is an American former professional road bicycle racer and track cyclist. He is a three-time world champion in track events and an Olympic gold and silver medalist. Nothstein also servied as a Lehigh County Commissioner and ran unsuccessfully as the Republican Party nominee for the 2018 United States House of Representatives election in Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district and 2018 Pennsylvania's 7th and 15th congressional district special elections.

Jackson Stewart is an American former road racing cyclist, who last rode for the BMC Racing Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curt Harnett</span> Canadian cyclist (born 1965)

Curtis "Curt" Melvin Harnett, is a Canadian racing cyclist. He began cycling as a way to stay in shape for hockey. He competed in four Olympic Games, winning three medals, one silver and two bronze.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelson Vails</span>

Nelson Beasley Vails is a retired road and track cyclist from the United States. He rode as a professional from 1988 to 1995 representing the US at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, where he became the first African American and first person of African descent to win an Olympic medal in cycling. He won the silver medal in the sprint, behind countryman Mark Gorski. He was inducted to the US Bicycle Hall of Fame in 2009.

Robert David Rodale (Cohen) (March 27, 1930 – September 20, 1990) was an American publisher who was president and chief executive officer of Rodale, Inc., a company founded in 1930 by his father J. I. Rodale in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velo Sports Center</span> Velodrome in Carson, California, U.S.

The VELO Sports Center is a velodrome located in Carson, California, United States. It is currently the only cycling track of its kind located in the United States. Formerly known as the ADT Event Center or LA Velodrome, it opened in 2004 on the California State University, Dominguez Hills Campus, part of the Dignity Health Sports Park complex. The facility is owned and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).

Mark Whitehead was an American cyclist. He competed in the men's points race at the 1984 Summer Olympics and won ten National championship titles.

Shaun Wallace is a British former professional cyclist who competed in two Olympic and three Commonwealth Games and rode for multiple American-based teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandy Marquardt</span> American track cyclist

Mandy Marquardt is an American female Sprint track cyclist, representing the United States and Team Novo Nordisk, the world's first-all diabetes professional cycling team. Marquardt was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 16. Marquardt is an 27-time U.S. National Champion, 4-time U.S. National Record Holder in the Standing 500m Time Trial, Standing 1 km Time Trial, Team Sprint (2-rider) and Team Sprint (3-rider).

Erica Carney is an American former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally in 2009 and between 2014 and 2019 for the Colavita–Fine Cooking and Rally UHC Cycling teams.

References

  1. 1 2 "Lehigh Valley Velodrome". VolunteerMatch . Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Lori (June 17, 2010). "Velodrome Hosts World Series of Bicycling". LVHomeExpert. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "History | Valley Preferred Cycling Center". History | Valley Preferred Cycling Center. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Lehigh Valley Velodrome". Lehigh Valley Marketplace. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Wogenrich, Mark (June 4, 1996). "U.s. Cycling Trials Open Today * The Lehigh Valley Velodrome Hosts Olympic Hopefuls, Beginning With The Men's Kilometer Time Trial". The Morning Call . Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Keith Eberhardt; Brandon keezer (June 2010). "Valley Preferred Cycling Center—Velodrome Track Repair and Resurfacing" (PDF). Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Valley Preferred buys naming rights to velodrome" . Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Darryl R. Isherwood (June 25, 2008). "County offers land for biking hall of fame". The Morning Call . Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Elite & Juniors Track National Championships". USA Cycling. August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ Darryl R. Isherwood (June 3, 2008). "Lehigh Valley in running for cycling hall of fame". The Morning Call . Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Bruce Donaghy". United States Bicycling Hall of Fame . Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  12. ↑ Dreier, Fred. "How to Succeed at Bike Swaps". Bicycling Magazine . Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  13. ↑ Goldberg, Shelley (May 7, 2011). "Valley Preferred Cycling Center Flea Market". Patch Media . Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Nation's Largest Cycling Flea Market Returns To T-Town This Saturday". Valley Preferred Cycling Center. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.