THE VIGORELLI "was an outdoor velodrome, it was semi-covered to lessen the effects of the wind. Its lightning surface was made of 2" by 2' slats of twenty foot long pine boards cut piece by piece from the centers of trunks of trees grown in a particular stand of Russian pine deep in Siberia.
There, the pine grew slowly, making the wood more dense and practically without knots or splinters. A racing surface of this kind of wood was as firm and as smooth as could be created. Racers could use the lightest possible tires and, when Milan's air was still and dry in September, the combination created ideal conditions for setting records." Source: Winning March 1984 Bill, F.B., Ga
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:06:30 -0800 Jim Allen <jimallen@nctimes.net>
writes:
> Part of the "mojo" for the Vigorelli is that it's not 333 meters, but
> 397
> meters.
>
> Leads to some different tactics in sprinting and complicates the
> starting
> locations for the pursuits and kilos.
>
> Part of the magic of my visit to the Masi factory in 1984 was
> stepping on to old
> track and examining the wooden surface and the unusual track
> markings.
>
> I had attended a National Commissaires seminar in 1983 in which a
> great deal of
> time was spent explaining the purpose of the various lines on a
> track. Since I
> was from Southern California, I'd never seen a track that wasn't 333
> or 250m.
>
> Officials (commissaires) are ranked as riders are in the US,
> progressing from
> Category 4 to 3 to 2 to 1. National Commissaires have additional
> training in
> international (UCI) rules and procedures. List member Ken Wallace is
> also a
> National Commissaire. Regrettably, both Ken and I exceed the age
> limit to become
> International Commissaires.
>
> Jim Allen
> San Marcos, CA
>
> Grant McLean wrote:
>
> > from http://www.cyclingnews.com
> >
> > Roof for Vigorelli velodrome?
> > Some major improvements may be in the works for the famed
> Vigorelli
> > velodrome in Milan, Italy. The velodrome has played host to a
> number of
> > world hour records and other historic events, as well as finishes
> for road
> > races and Giro d'Italia stages.
> >
> > The 333m wooden track received recent restoration work, thanks to
> Mapei's
> > Dr. Squinzi. Now it appears that the Comune Milano is interested
> in building
> > a roof over the track. With funds remaining from the Italia
> Novante World
> > Cup soccer tournament proceeds, a proposal will be presented by
> Milano
> > Sport, which runs all sporting facilities in Milan. This proposal
> will be
> > put before the Lombardia region for approval. Reportedly the funds
> are
> > available, and the project only needs the region's approval to
> proceed.
> >
> > GMclean
> > toronto.ca
> > _______________________________________________
>
> _______________________________________________
>
________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit http://www.juno.com