Talat Zaki Hafiz

MOSCOW — Russia is planning a world-class velodrome on the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics and hopes to create a Tour of Russia with a Red Square finish to promote the sport, its cycling federation chief said Wednesday.

The head of Russia’s cycling body, Igor Makarov, told reporters that the federation’s plans to renovate the country’s cycling infrastructure with a view to staging major events had received full backing from the government.
He said that Russia’s cycling ambitions would be centered around 2014 Winter Olympics host city Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea with a temperate climate and surrounded by huge mountains.

“We decided to transform one of the skating rinks which are now under construction in Sochi into a top-class cycling racing track after the end of 2014 Olympics,” he said. “We need it desperately, as none of the existing racing tracks in Russia fit the strict demands for the Olympic cycling track. Besides, we’re going to create a great cycling center in the city using the classy highways which are currently being constructed there for the Games.”

Russia has made little impact in track cycling in recent years, as advances in technology and training by the likes of Britain and Australia left other nations with less funding trailing in their wake.

Some racers like Denis Menchov have made an impact in road racing, however, while Russia also has its own Katusha road racing team. But the country has never been considered a great force in the big European tours. Makarov also revealed that he was also planning to stage a professional Tour of Russia — an annual multiple-stage race.

“I believe a professional race with its overall finish in Red Square in front of Moscow’s ancient Kremlin would attract the attention of millions of sport lovers everywhere,” he said. “I believe such a race will also seriously boost cycling’s popularity in Russia,” said Makarov, a former Soviet champion-turned-businessman who is an influential figure in cycling. — AFP