Bike lovers have a mountain to climb

28 February 2007

CHAMPION: British champion Jenny Copnall learnt her trade at the Eastway Circuit.

THE recent announcement of plans for the post-Olympic Velopark has put the future of mountain biking in Newham in serious jeopardy, writes LUKE WILSON.

Having surrendered the Eastway Cycle Circuit near Stratford for the development of the 2012 Games it appears that, contrary to the initial promises made to the IOC as part of the Olympic bid, the sport of Mountainbike (MTB) Cross Country will have no lasting legacy in the area.

The Eastway venue was demolished last November on the proviso that the £22m Velopark would include international-standard mountain biking facilities post-2012.

However the blueprints submitted by the Olympic Development Agency (ODA) earlier this month allude to a different situation entirely.

"The promise that was made in the bid to the IOC was that after the Games, mountain biking would return to the Eastway site," said Michael Humphreys, chair of the Eastway Users Group.

"However when all is said and done, there will be no provision for world-class facilities in the area and the new site at the Velopark will only be of local interest at best.

"The off-road facilities are totally unacceptable and we will not even be allowed to run a competitive race at the site if the plans aren't changed."

For the past 14 years Eastway has been inner London's only legal off-road competition venue and a place for thousands of cyclists of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to develop their interest in the sport.

One of those to have benefited from the circuit's amenities for top-class competition is the reigning British MTB champion Jenny Copnall and she announced her disappointment at the ODA's plans.

"It is with sorrow and concern that I heard from the Eastway Users' Group of the ODA's decision," she said.

"I fully expect the spectacle of the mountain bike cross country event at the 2012 Olympics to bring more young riders into our fantastic sport, many likely to be from the London area.

"It is essential that these potential future Olympians have access to grassroots competition in a safe yet challenging environment.

"Eastway has, until now, provided this, and played a pivotal role in my introduction and development as a young racer.

"The London area is not blessed with off-road riding places. In view of this I feel that it is very important that the finest example be reinstated, albeit with the break period during the Games, so that for those who wish to become mountain bike racers can do so, without their urban roots hindering their progress," she concluded.

Eastway was a 24-hectare site before its demolition and was widely regarded as the top cycling venue of its kind in the country.

However, the provisional MTB site at the new Velopark looks likely to be only 10 hectares and not capable of staging national events as Eastway has in the past.

A provisional site in Hog Hill, Hainault has been set aside for competition prior to 2012 but even that needs major work and local authority funding to come up to scratch and will cause major disruption to the mountain biking season.

The Eastway Users Group has made its feelings known to the powers that be, including Ken Livingstone, Tessa Jowell and Lord Coe, and is understandably hopeful that the final plans for the Velopark will not prove to be a nail in the coffin for mountain biking in London and the South of England as a whole.

"It looks as if London 2012 is set to deny an Olympic discipline of the facilities that were previously in place," said Humphreys.

"So it really does seem as though they have not only misled the IOC but also the members of Eastway.

"We have seven national champions who were based at Eastway but how are they supposed to seriously compete in the future when no legacy has been provided in the area?