Unfinished Velodrome is city’s “biggest problem”, says Rio Mayor

The Mayor of Rio has told journalists that the “biggest problem” facing the city ahead of the Olympic kick of in August is the unfinished velodrome, reports Reuters.

“The biggest problem, the biggest challenge and the job that gave us most problems and missed the deadline was the velodrome,” said Mayor Eduardo Paes. “The track is practically done. We have 30 to 40 more days of intense work but we are on schedule.”

At an estimated 85 percent complete, the venue has already missed planned test runs and it is now believed that there will be no major trial run before the Olympic Village begins to fill with riders.

Originally the Brazilian capital had planned to use a venue built for the 2007 Pan American Games, though this was turned down on inspection by the IOC for not meeting standards.

The Great British team now find themselves without technical director Shane Sutton who has resigned amid a number of accusations from athletes.

In other track cycling news, Velon has linked with Face Partnership to bring audiences closer to the action.