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An Unsettling and Disturbing Guide to Road, Criterium and Track Racing in Australia... Sydney's Velodromes!Camperdown, now closed; also known as O'Dea Reserve. I raced on this track from 1985 until about 1992 or so. It no longer exists (it was destined to become unit housing last time I heard). In brief, the history runs like this...up to the 1970s the Dulwich Hill club (incorporating the Petersham and Marrickville clubs) raced at Henson Park, Marrickville. However Henson was also the home of a Sydney first grade rugby league team that needed Henson redeveloped with lighting towers of television grade. Of course the towers were slap-bang in the middle of the track. Ironically the club in question - the Newtown Jets - was subsequently relegated to a lower grade, despite the lighting investment. In any case a deal was struck where Marrickville Council assisted the Dulwich Hill Club by providing land suited to a steep-sided concrete velodrome, in Camperdown. The track was open to the elements, 250m around with 45 degree 'wall of death' turns. Basically the faster you rode the safer you felt. Ride slow and you risked hitting a pedal and lifting a wheel - and ending up in a slide to the bottom, pronto. High bottom brackets and short cranks were needed, as they still are on other steep tracks. By the mid 1980s Camperdown had subsided and bumps appeared, especially in the back straight. Although the club did well to patch the worst cracks it was entirely possible to get airborne and sideways on the bumps during a sprint.  The track hosted many carnivals, including the Sydney Thousand and countless state opens. Training was typically on a Monday night and club racing on Wednesdays. Opens were held on weekends during the summer. With high maintenance and competition from other tracks (notably the 'new' Canterbury Velodrome at Tempe) Camperdown was in many ways doomed to decline. I don't know exactly when and how the demise occurred, however by 1998 it was declared closed and it was further reported that the Environmental Protection Authority had tested the soil and found it highly contaminated and unfit for human activity. Presumably previous industrial activity was responsible as the land had been used as a rubbish tip prior to conversion to a park. Canterbury (old) Now closed, open circa 1940-50. This ultra-steep board track was essentially the old 200m Sydney Sports Arena board track transplanted to a site north and west of present-day Canterbury railway station and adjacent to Canterbury racecourse. One rider of this track reported splinters, so falling was not recommended! Canterbury (new) Opened October 1982. See the Bankstown Sports Club history page.Canterbury Velodrome is located at Waterworth Park, Bayview Ave Undercliffe. It is a sister of the Chandler Velodrome in Brisbane (which was built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games. The track is of outdoor concrete construction, 330m around. Coleman Park, Auburn. Closed. Track racing is reported to have been conducted by Lidcombe Auburn club from 1927 to 1947 at Coleman Park, Auburn; it moved to Lidcombe Oval in 1947 where it remains today. Dunc Gray, Bass Hill Current home of the Bankstown Sports Club. Opened in 2000 for the Sydney Olympics. Board track, covered, 250m. Henson Park, Marrickville. Closed in 1973 or thereabouts, the large (800m?) asphalt-surfaced shallow saucer track remained in situ until about 1975 when major lighting work remodelled the ground. A former brickworks, Henson was opened in 1937. Its first major event was the 1938 Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealth Games. During the games, crowds regularly exceeded 40,000. Cycling was popular in the 40s and 50s with crowds in excess of 30,000 regularly attending Saturday night races. Merrylands Oval. In 1967 the Parramatta Club raised funds to help restore Merrylands Oval cycling track with the assistance of the Holroyd City Council. Lights were installed on the track. It is of asphalt surfacing, open and about 400m Pratten Park, Ashfield is mentioned as a venue for track cycling in the 1930s by the Canberra Bicycle Museum. The current configuration suggests that the banking became the current seating. Lidcombe Oval. Wyatt Park, Lidcombe. An asphalt track, lit, about 400m, open. Track racing commenced in 1927 at Coleman Park, Auburn and moved to Lidcombe Oval in 1947 where it remains today. There's a tight turn to be negotiated just after the start/finish. Races are held by the Lidcombe Auburn club Sydney Showground/Sydney Cricket Ground. Track racing was conducted at both the Sydney Showground and Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, in the 1930s and 40s. Both very large shallow saucer tracks. Crowds of up to 57,000 were reported at the SCG for the 'Sydney Thousand' (ie the total prize was a thousand guineas) Sydney Sports Arena. Surry Hills. Was closed circa 1940, and moved to Canterbury. Ultra-steep board track, 200m. Hurstville (St George) Oval. Home of the St George club, Hurstville. Open. Well maintained, lit. Built in 1934 Tempe (see Canterbury (new). Opened October 1982. See the Bankstown Sports Club history page. Wiley Park. Corner of Canterbury Road and King Georges Road. Was an open, asphalt, lit track. Closed around 1980 due to road widening, however the track's shape and banking remain recognisable. See the Bankstown Sports Club history page. A cinder track for cycling was built in the 1930s. Orinally home to the Lakemba Cycling Club and later the Bankstown Sports Club. The velodrome was replaced by the new Canterbury track, Waterworth Park, Tempe. See the Canterbury Council history page.
Some Track (Velodrome)tips!
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Part 1 of 'A Guide to Bike Racing for the non-elite rider!' Part 2 - more general racing info, including tactics Part 3 - the track events and track tips Part 4 - Sydney's velodromes, past and present Part 5 - What do the lines mean? |
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