U.S. Olympic cycling training facility in Winston-Salem

[zalo]

Downtown Winston-Salem is a leading candidate for the location of an elite U.S. Olympic cycling training facility, a potential ripple effect from the local embrace of a national road-racing event. The site being considered is at 505 N. Liberty St., a 42,000-square-foot building across from the Millennium Center. Richard Rauck, chairman of the local committee, said the building is in the process of being purchased. Although the center would have to be self-sufficient financially, he said there is an expectation of corporate sponsorships, potential retail and local health-care tenants, and historic tax credits. USA Cycling serves as the sport’s national governing body. Steve Johnson, the group’s president and chief executive, wrote in a March 10 letter to the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic committee that he supports a local bid if the committee applies to the U.S. Olympic Committee. Johnson and other USA Cycling officials visited the site during a summit gathering held here in November. “I believe this building has wonderful potential to develop the programs necessary to become an elite training facility, as well as serve the local community and region in general population health and wellness,” Johnson wrote

Johnson said there are 16 national training centers, such as the National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, but none for cycling disciplines that include road, mountain and cyclo-cross. USA Cycling acknowledges the area around Winston Salem as very conducive to growth of” those sports, he said. “Beyond meeting the requirements in the USOC manual, the USOC defers to the national governing body of each sport to determine which facilities best meet the requirements of the respective sport.”

The Winston-Salem Cycling Classic has grown quickly into national prominence. The Winston-Salem cycling event will be held for the second time April 18-19. With $50,000 in prize money and an overall $400,000 budget, Rauck said the local event “is one of the best financed cycling events in the country. That likely is a plus for our candidacy.”

http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/olympic-cycling-site-a-possibility-downtown/article_6bc10b64-b082-11e3-83e3-0017a43b2370.html

http://www.winstonsalemcycling.com/

[RichardC]

This is good news.  Cycling has taken hold in Winston-Salem quicker than tennis and the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest.  This training facility will give North Carolina another Olympics feather along with the National Whitewater Center near Charlotte.

[zalo]

It's Offical!! The U.S. Olympic Committee has approved 505 N. Liberty Street as the new Olympic cycling training center. The center will be a U.S. Olympic and Paralympic training site where elite athletes train to compete on the world cycling stage. But plans for the facility include significant space for community wellness and cycling, a wellness and nutrition market and cafe, clinical research and testing areas and four rooftop apartments with private outdoor decks and a shared rooftop terrace.

There are just 16 of these facilities across the country, including the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte and a weightlifting training center at East Tennessee State University.

This news comes just in time for The Winston-Salem Cycling Classic , the professional biking event that had its inaugural races last summer, which will be returning to downtown Friday and Saturday . On Friday, road races begin at 8:30 a.m. along a 1.5 mile circuit near the downtown Innovation Quarter. The 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. races will be on a 7-mile course from downtown to the West End, Old Salem and Washington Park. On Saturday, races begin with an 80-mile Gran Fondo, from Winston-Salem through the Yadkin Valley wine country and back to downtown. Featured races for Saturday evening begin at 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6 p.m., along a .9-mile loop through downtown. Three bands will take the stage on Saturday night on Trade Street near Finnigan’s Wake: Better than Ezra, The Connells and Below the Line. Proceeds will benefit the Sceptor Pain Foundation and the Forsyth Medical Center Foundation. Winston-Salem Professional Tennis, which also manages the Winston-Salem Open tennis tournament each August, is producing the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic. The total purse is $50,000. For more information, visit www.winstonsalemcycling.com.

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/2014/04/downtown-winston-salem-lands-u-s-olympic-cycling.html?page=all

[RichardC]

Bicyclists from around the world are getting their "Southern Wake Up Call" as US Airways magazine referred to Winston-Salem and it's culture in the 80-page feature article of the October 2013 issue.  The annual cycling weekend in Winston-Salem, despite the weather, was a success.

 

http://www.journalnow.com/sports/cycling_classic/bicyclists-experience-southern-hospitality-up-close/article_f499d601-8986-5e3d-8828-9781b00bff42.html

[sean]

I'm thinking of a word that begins with the letter V and rhymes with honeycomb!

[zalo]

The National Cycling Center has started construction with a planned opening in time for the 2017 training center. http://usncc.org/

The NCC will be the country’s premier training destination for elite cycling athletes from any cycling discipline – road racing, mountain biking, BMX, cyclo cross and para-cycling.  The NCC  will also act as a community resource for cycling-related fitness, activity, education and advocacy. 

The facility will provide not only state-of-the-art space to train together as a team, but access to some of healthcare’s best and brightest minds in sports medicine, physical therapy and athletic training.  The varied terrain and temperate climate make the destination perfect for Spring training camps or specialty training year-round.

 

 

[RaleighHeelsfan]

Sounds cool. But is there a real rendering of this building??

[zalo]

I haven't seen any renderings as to what the outside will look like.