Brazilian professional cyclists were photographed taking part in an informal test of the Olympic Velodrome track ©Getty Images

Rio 2016 have sought to ease concerns over the progress of the Olympic Velodrome by staging an "informal test" at the venue.

Professional Brazilian cyclists were photographed on the track by Globo newspaper, who claim that the athletes were accompanied by technicians responsible for the construction of the velodrome.

It is claimed that the test was part of ongoing work to fix the rubber layer covering the wooden track, which has been imported from Siberia.

Additionally, the test gave cyclists the opportunity to assess the air-conditioning.

The test could help alleviate concerns about the progress of the venue with less than 100 days to go until the Olympic Games, with delays in the installation of the track forcing the official test event to be cancelled.

The event had been scheduled to begin today and run until May 1, having been pushed back from March 18 and 20 to allow more time for the track to be laid.

The decision, announced on March 24, was jointly taken by Rio 2016 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), while the International Cycling Union (UCI) were also told.

The Aquece Rio International Track Cycling Challenge was supposed to be the first event to be held at the venue.

Last month Rio 2016 were forced to cancel the official test event after delays in the installation of the track
Last month Rio 2016 were forced to cancel the official test event after delays in the installation of the track ©Rio 2016

Rio 2016’s director of communications Mario Andrada insisted, at the time of the cancellation of the test event, that he was "120 per cent" confident the Velodrome would be ready in time for the Olympics, with track cycling competitions due to be staged from August 11 to 16.

He claimed it would be "Games ready" by May 31.

As a replacement, a two-day training period on June 26 and 27 has been arranged in order to give the venue a "quick test".

International Cycling Union (UCI) President Brian Cookson had exclusively revealed to insidethegames in February that they had been concerned about the state of progress at the venue.

Last week, Cookson admitted he was disappointed that the test event had not been able to go ahead, but stated the governing body would continue to support Rio 2016 to ensure the facility is ready for the Games.

“We understand that there is a training session in late June, that is an absolute minimum really that we would want to see,” Cookson told insidethegames.

“If there is a possibility of teams being able to visit the velodrome before the Games, that is something that we would like to see.

“It is disappointing that there won’t be a proper test event, but we will have to live with that.”