Ottavio Bottecchia Velodrome: Pordenone is all dressed up with a new track
Thanks to Mapei’s extensive experience in refurbishing velodromes a new project was launched: to develop a high-performance resin system to give a new lease of life to a sports arena with a glorious past.
A low level of friction and good grip were the key features of this particular project: to modulate the surface according to the requirements of athletes and the client and create an optimum balance between these two important technical factors. And then it was the colour that made all the difference, with just the right level of visual impact and emotional charge for cyclists and fans alike.
The Ottavio Bottecchia velodrome in Pordenone was built in 1925 by a group of local businessmen who later donated it to Pordenone City Council, which is still the rightful owner. Even though it is now eighty-five years old, the structure itself is still in good working order from a technical point of view and was recently approved by the International Cycling Union (UCI).
With a view to maintaining this high technical standard, and to even improve on it, Pordenone City Council decided to invest more resources into the quality of the track. Mapei took part in this project by supplying products specifically developed for this special type of sports surface.
The intervention involved completely renovating the surface of 4,000 m2 of track. After removing the old surface (installed 20 years ago), cracks in the substrate were sealed with EPORIP two-component, solvent-free epoxy adhesive and the surfaces were treated with PRIMER SN two-component, fillerized epoxy primer.
Work on the track was carried out using MAPECOAT TNS CYCLE TRACK, a multi-layered, acrylic resin-based system specifically developed for tracks for outdoor velodromes installed on bituminous or cementitious substrates.
This system – which comprises the application of successive coats of MAPECOAT TNS FINISH 1, MAPECOAT TNS PAINT, MAPECOAT TNS PRIMER EPW and MAPECOAT TNS WHITE BASE COAT– is used to create a surface with good mechanical properties, high resistance to abrasion and an excellent combination of low friction and high stability for cycle tyres, thereby helping riders reach a higher level of performance.
The joints in the reinforced concrete structure were then sealed with MAPEFOAM closed-cell, polyethylene foam cord and MAPEFLEX PU 45 FT paintable, rapid, high-modulus, polyurethane adhesive and sealant, suitable for joints subject to movements of up to 20%.
This tried and tested system was developed thanks to the company’s experience over the years of installing tracks in velodromes in Italy and abroad.
THE “TRE SERE CITTA’ DI PORDENONE” EVENT MARKS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA
Pordenone Velodrome-Arena is named after the legendary two-time Tour de France winner Ottavio Bottecchia. As well as international events, it also hosted several editions of the Italian Track Cycling Championships. The first event to be hosted at the Bottecchia velodrome after the repair/modernisation operations were completed was the “3 Sere Internazionali Città di Pordenone” (3 International Evenings in the City of Pordenone), which was a great success with both the general public and sponsors. The organisers decided to keep the name “3 Evenings” even though the event was actually held over four days. As well as a normal Six Day event for teams of two riders, the organisers also scheduled the Italian Derny Championships for men and women, and other specialist events for both professionals and young amateur riders. Apart from the Italian Derny Championships, all the other races were standard international events featuring highly motivated riders racing for UCI ranking points. The standings determine who will take part in the World Track Racing Championships and Olympics. The first of the four days featured a spectacular men’s omnium with riders from seven nations competing over four events, i.e. a scratch race, tempo-race, elimination race and points race. The Olympic Omnium champion, Elia Viviani, won the scratch race ahead of the Australian rider Cameron Meyer and a promising young rider called Matteo Donegà. Meyer was then in great form in the tempo-race (a variation on the points race)winning easily ahead of the Hungarian rider Krisztian Lovassy with Donegà finishing third. This took Meyer to the top of the standings. Viviani was back to his winning ways in the elimination race with the Russian rider Sergey Rostovtsev finishing second and Meyer third. Meyer then showed his class by winning the decisive points race to claim overall victory in the City of Pordenone omnium with a final score of 210 points. “When Meyer is in that kind of form, he is unbeatable.”, so Viviani told us. The rider from Verona then went on to talk about the track: “I am extremely pleased with the new Bottecchia track, it is fast and high-performing”. The sprinter Riccardo Minali won the Italian Derny Championship. Leonardo Fedrigo came second riding behind Marco Cannone’s derny and Andrea Guardini finished third (behind the derny rode by Cordiano Dagnoni). The Italian women’s championship was won by Rachele Barbieri, who raced behind Cordiano Dagnono, with Marta Cavalli (riding behind Cristian Dagnoni, Cordiano’s brother) winning the silver and Letizia Paternoster (accompanied by Fabio Perego) taking the bronze. “Of all the outdoor tracks with resin/cement-based surfaces –so Dagnoni noted – the Bottecchia is the fastest in Italy. And I can assure you it is one of the fastest in Europe. I would like to congratulate whoever refurbished it, because it has just the right surface texture. A totally smooth track would be no good, because there would be no grip (and not just round the bends)at any speed. The roughness of the track at Bottecchia velodrome is the ideal mix to ensure maximum speed and safety. And bearing in mind that this is a 400-metre track with long straights, a derny can reach higher speeds than on indoor tracks”.The audience at the Bottecchia velodrome cheered on the cyclistsin the pairs race. After four days of fantastic battles in theMadison, elimination, scratch, 200 metres Flying TT and points race, the winners were Andrea Guardini and Paolo Simion ahead of Matteo Donegà and Filippo Ferronato. Davide Plebani and Carlo Alberto Giordani finished third, one lap behind.
VIGORELLI DI MILANO, RE-OPENING FOR THE ITALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Milan’s “magical track” is back in action. Vigorelli-Antonio Maspes Velodrome in Milan hosted a series of track races for the Italian Cycling Championships. The winners of the Italian Championships were the junior racer Davide Boscaro (omnium), the elite riders Francesco Lamon (omnium) and Francesco Ceci (keirin and sprint), the team of Lamon-Michele Scartezzini (madison) and, in the women’s elite races, Elisa Balsamo and Maria Giulia Confalonieri (madison), Miriam Vece (sprint), Martina Fidanza (keirin) and Rachele Barbieri (omnium). The Vigorelli was back hosting the Italian Championships 17 years after they were last held at this venue. The refurbishment work carried out by City Life has not finished yet: the stands and changing rooms will be completed by March 2020. In any case, from spring 2019 the “Vigo” will be an important training facility for the Italian national team as it gets ready to take part in the 2020 Olympics in Japan. Mapei was lately involved in the renovation works at this Velodrome and we will provide further details in the next issues of Realtà Mapei Inaternational. To subscribe to our magazine, please click here.
