Photos: Hungary’s first indoor wooden cycling track opened

Hungary’s first indoor cycling track accredited by the International Cycling Union (UCI), the Kőbánya BringArena, was inaugurated on Sunday, MTI reports.

The design of the facility, which will be housed in a metal structure tent, began in October 2018, the 200-metre wooden track is 5.8 metres wide, the running surface is made of specially treated, laminated spruce, with a gradient of 14 degrees on the straight and 50.3 degrees in the bends.

The BringAréna, with a capacity of 4,500 square metres and 100 spectators, will be able to host both national and small international cycling competitions, as well as providing training facilities for professional and amateur cyclists, while also playing a key role in the education of young cyclists. The construction cost of HUF 812 million (EUR 2,03 million) was financed by state, federal and municipal subsidies, as well as an investment by Vuelta Kft.

The velodrome is named after Szilvia Szabolcsi, who finished fifth in the 200m fly at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The counter-arena is named after Miklós Somogyi, who won the gold medal in the points competition at the Friendship competition for the socialist countries that were forced to withdraw from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Máriusz Révész, the active State Secretary for Hungary, pointed out at the inauguration ceremony that the next such track is six to seven hundred kilometres away, so they hope that many people from abroad will come here.