Abstract :
CYCLING enthusiasts are spoilt for choice in the Olympic Games. Sure there are the BMX circuit, the road cycle pursuit, the mountain bike course - but the main events take place in the Velodrome. For the construction of the Velodrome as for all buildings on the Olympic site - there was a lot of rubbish to be cleared away first. Work began with a 35t recycling machine clearing up a 100-year-old refuse site,separated up to 500t a day of industrial and domestic waste into glass, metals, concrete and soil that was used elsewhere on the site or recycled. Of course there were discoveries too: a medieval waterway called Hennikers Ditch ran along the route of the ancient River Leyton and passed through the site of the VeloPark. It was diverted away from the site through a specially constructed underground concrete channel. A 150-year-old cobbled street was also unearthed - part of an old Templar Knights mill, experts believe. Then the real work began with the scooping out of a bowl 100m long by 60m wide and 4m deep. Then more than 900 piles of 26m were driven in to give the arena a strong foundation.
