Pro bicycle races slated for Neville Island

Spectators at bicycle races on Neville Island will get a high-tech sports experience, the developer of the indoor track has pledged.

Cycling fans will get closer to the competitions with leading edge techniques like on-board video cameras, live-streaming rider data, an easy-to-follow point system, season-long team competition and heart-pounding sound and lighting, Robert Gottlieb said last week.

Island 200, the $15 million velodrome under construction on Grand Avenue, will be home to professional racing by teams from the new World Cycling League.

Mr. Gottlieb will serve as the league president. Im excited that Island 200 will serve as WCLs production studio and initial league headquarters, he said.

League commissioner John Vande Velde and CEO David Chauner both are former U.S. Olympic Team cyclists and U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame members. John Nelson is chief operating officer and Mark Bombara is chief technology officer.

The Island 200 velodrome is being built on a tract just east of the Interstate 79 bridge over Neville Island. The site adjoins Mr. Gottliebs aluminum recycling business.

Original plans called for opening the velodrome early this year, but Mr. Gottlieb said the process of obtaining permits for the indoor track has taken longer than he had anticipated.

Mr. Gottlieb has been involved in cycling since 1973 and has raced for more than 30 years. I am astounded by the quality of the bicycling talent and the work ethic here in Western Pennsylvania, he said. Local cycling champions include Matt Eaton, winner of the 1983 Tour of Britain Milk Race, and Daniel Chew, two-time winner [1996 and 1999] of the Race Across America.

The new velodrome will allow cyclists to build on past successes and give them a place to train year round, he said.

Initial events at the velodrome will include amateur racing this summer.

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Pro bicycle races slated for Neville Island