Xavier Pasamonte (left) and Timo Pritzel (right) heat up the newly opened pump track in Grenchen

Although the facility was only officially opened on June 15, the pump track and BMX track have been in heavy use for several weeks. "As soon as the first areas were asphalted, children and young people were already riding the next day," reports Claudio Caluori, who planned and realized the facility together with his team from Velosolutions.

After clearing the surfaces, around 5000 m3 of gravel was brought in and shaped by hand and with an excavator. At the same time, a drainage system was built to drain the rainwater from the clayey Grenchen soil into the nearby stream. All the driving surfaces were then covered with almost 700 tons of asphalt. This means that the entire facility can be used not only by bicycles of all kinds, but also by skateboards, scooters and inline skates.

The facility is open daily from 08:00 in the morning until 20:00 in the evening, is operated by Velodrome Suisse AG and can be roughly divided into two areas: The front part with an eight-meter and a three-meter high start ramp is used for professional BMX training. This area then merges seamlessly into the pump track, which extends to the rear of the facility and can be ridden by beginners and professionals alike.

Old champion Timo Pritzel gains air supremacy on the Grenchen pump track

The BMX area is primarily used by Swiss Cycling, the Swiss Cycling Federation, as a training facility for the BMX national team and other BMX groups. When the facility is not occupied by Swiss Cycling, it is available to the public and can also be hired by groups and clubs.

In order to familiarize children and young people with the rules of pump track riding, the Velodrome Suisse is organizing two intro sessions on Wednesday, 1 July and Wednesday, 8 July 2015 from 3 - 5 pm, where instructors will be on hand to give tips and tricks to all users. Admission is free. If you get pump track fever after that, sign up for the pump track courses, which start in August after the summer vacation. All information and dates will be published on www.velodromesuisse.ch.

Beat Zbinden, who oversaw the construction of the track as project manager, is very satisfied: "Grenchen has received another piece of the puzzle for a complete cycling city and is thus finally becoming Switzerland's cycling Mecca."

Grenchen has a lot to offer cyclists: On the industry side, the city is characterized by the headquarters of bicycle manufacturer BMC. With the Velodromesuisse, Grenchen not only has a "temple to the forest", but is also home to the headquarters of the national cycling association Swiss Cycling. With the recently opened BMX and pump track facility, the town near the Röstigraben has gained an important cycling attraction for all age groups.www.velodromesuisse.ch
www.swisscycling.ch