SPORTS> Beijing in Preparation
Olympic mountain bike course under renovation
(BOCOG)
Updated: 2006-05-31 17:11

Laoshan mountain bike course, a competition venue for the 2008 Olympic Games, started its renovation and expansion program on Wednesday.

Located at Laoshan area of Shijingshan District in western Beijing, the course is adjacent to Laoshan velodrome, another Olympic venue for cycling competitions.

The project involves a competition course of 6.2 kilometers in circumference, a fixed building with a floor space of 8,275 square meters, a temporary spectator stand with a seating capacity of 2000 as well as other temporary facilities for competition service.

The project, to be completed at the second half of 2007, will be used for mountain bike competitions of the 29th Olympic Games. Besides, it will become a training base for the Chinese cycling team and will be open to the public after the 2008 Games is over.

A total of 31 competition venues will be used for 26 Olympic sports to be held in Beijing. Of these venues 11 are to be built from scratch, 11 are existing sites to be renovated or expanded and nine are temporary ones or overlays. All venues will be delivered by the end of 2007.