"Every visit to the Olympic Park provides us with yet another impressive sign of the progress that is being made here and today's visit is no exception," he said.

"As an amateur cyclist, it's fantastic to see the finished track - I'm sure that athletes such as Chris Hoy will love competing here and that future generations of cyclists will be inspired to continue cycling thanks to the quality of the facilities available to them in legacy."

Oswald was joined by Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt, two young leaders from Tower Hamlets and Greenwich and two local riders who are looking forward to using the venue in legacy.

"Completing the Velodrome track is another significant milestone, keeping the venue on course to be completed early next year and showing the good progress we continue to make across the Olympic Park," said Armitt.

"Seeing the Velodrome track in place gives us an exciting glimpse of where we hope new records will be broken in 2012 and where a new generation of cyclists will be able to take to the track after the Games."

Coe said: "This will be a world class track in 2012 producing world class performances.

"I'm thrilled to be visiting the venue with two enthusiastic young people who are passionate about the Games and two local cyclists who are excited about using the Velodrome after the Games.

"We've always stated we wanted to use the power of the Games to inspire young people to choose sport and hopefully today's visit will inspire them even more."

Coe and Armitt proudly showed Oswald and John Coates, the President of the Australian Olympic Committee, who is a member of the IOC Coordination Commission, the track.



Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: "Having recently seen the British Cycling team in training, I know what an exciting spectator event track cycling is.

"With what we hope to be the fastest cycling track in the world, the iconic London 2012 Velodrome promises to host a fantastic competition with many world record breaking performances."

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Providing a lasting legacy is our overriding vision for the London Games and the Velodrome will be an essential part of that."

The 6,000-seat Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic track cycling events in 2012.

After the Games, the legacy Velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.


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November 2010: London 2012 confident they will impress IOC inspectors
August 2010: Sir Chris Hoy set to be first to test London 2012 venue
June 2010: Roof lifted into place at Velodrome for London 2012
April 2010: Clancy impressed by London 2012 Velodrome
August 2009: VeloPark for 2012 steps up a gear