Velodromo Vigorelli (from 2001 officially Velodromo Maspes-Vigorelli) is a semi-covered

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is currently used mostly for

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

events; surrounded by the track, there is a standard size football field in synthetic turf. In 2013 it was the home of the

IFAF The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organisation and promotion of all international competitions across both contact and non conta ...

European Football Championship. It is currently the home stadium for the football teams Seamen Milano and

Rhinos Milano The Rhinos Milano are an American football team based in Milan, Italy. The team was founded in 1976 (first team in Italy) and won the Italian championship in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990 and 2016. The Rhinos play in the Italian Football League (for ...

. The stadium holds 9,000 people and was built in 1935 by Vigorelli Cycles. It was burned down during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

after bombing of Milan by the RAF but then rebuilt. The stadium was home to the

hour record The hour record is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle from a stationary start. Cyclists attempt this record alone on the track without other competitors present. It is considered one of the most prestigious record ...

from 1935 to 1967 and the one-hour tandem record of Ernest Mills and Bill Paul from 1937 to 2000. It hosted the

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

in 1939, 1951, 1955 and 1962. After years of neglect and planned demolitions, campaigning by local enthusiasts led to the approval by local authorities in March 2014 of plans to renovate the velodrome. The stadium has also hosted music events, including

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' concert on June 24, 1965. It was the site of a concert by English rock band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

which took place during the band's 1971 European tour, well known for its descent into a violent riot between concert attendees and the local police.Chris Welch (1994) ''Led Zeppelin'', London: Orion Books. , p. 63.

Hour record

Men's hour record

The

for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour. From 1935–1967 it was set exclusively at the Velodromo Vigorelli by nine different cyclists in 10 rides. In 1935

Giuseppe Olmo Giuseppe Olmo (22 November 1911 – 5 March 1992) was an Italian road bicycle racer. He competed at the 1932 Olympics and won a gold medal in the team road race, placing fourth individually. In October 1935 he set a new hour record at 45.090 ...

took the record by covering , exceeding the distance set at

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

in Belgium by . He established the track's reputation as fastest in the world. From 1936 Maurice Richard;

Frans Slaats Frans Slaats (born Waalwijk, Netherlands, 11 June 1912, died Waalwijk, 6 April 1993) was a Dutch professional cyclist who broke the world hour record. Slaats was a prominent velodrome rider in the 1930s, especially in six-day racing. In Septemb ...

;

Maurice Archambaud Maurice Archambaud (30 August 1908 in Paris – 3 December 1955 in Le Raincy) was a French professional cyclist from 1932 to 1944. His short stature earned him the nickname of ''le nabot'', or "the dwarf", but his colossal thighs made him an exce ...

; François Faure;

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...

;

Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil (; 8 January 1934 – 18 November 1987) was a French road racing cyclist and the first cyclist to win the Tour de France five times, in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964. He stated before the 1961 Tour that he would gain the ye ...

;

Ercole Baldini Ercole Baldini (26 January 1933 – 1 December 2022) was an Italian cyclist. As an amateur he won an Olympic gold medal in the road race and the world title in the individual pursuit on track, both in 1956.Roger Rivière Roger Rivière (; 23 February 1936 – 1 April 1976) was a French track cycling, track and road bicycle racer. He raced as a professional from 1957 to 1960. Rivière, a individual time trial, time trialist, all-around talent on the road, and a ...

added a further to the record, until the Olympic track in Rome became faster.

Tandem one-hour record

In 1937

Mills and Paul Ernest Victor Mills (10 April 1913 – 10 October 1972), commonly known as Ernie Mills, was an English amateur cyclist who, with his teammate Bill Paul, set the British 12-hour record on a tandem in 1934 and re-established it in 1936 with ...

set the tandem record at . The trip had been funded by readers of ''

Cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

''.BBC, October 2, 1998 — Bill Paul plans new attempt on record
/ref> This record stood until on September 23, 2000 at Manchester velodrome it was beaten by Simon Keeton and Jon Rickard of Rutland Cycling Club.
/ref>

Women's hour record

On 25 September 1958, Manx cyclist

Millie Robinson Mildred Jessie "Millie" Robinson (3 December 1924 - 23 January 1994) was an Irish-born Manx road and track cyclist. Winner of multiple British time trial and road racing championships in the 1950s, she was also the winner of the first Tour de ...

broke the women's world hour record (plus the 10km and 20km records) at Vigorelli, achieving a distance of , beating the old record by . The record lasted just over a month;

Elsy Jacobs Elsy Jacobs (4 March 1933 – 27 February 1998) was a Luxembourgish road bicycle racer. She became the first ever women's Road World Champion when she won the inaugural race on 30 August 1958. Later the same year she broke the women's hour ...

broke the record at Vigorelli on 9 November 1958, riding a distance of . The record stood for 14 years.

References

{{Coord, 45, 28, 53, N, 9, 9, 29, E, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Vigorelli Velodromes in Italy Sports venues in Milan Cycle racing in Italy Rugby union stadiums in Italy Sports venues completed in 1935 1935 establishments in Italy American football venues in Italy European League of Football venues

Hour record

Men's hour record

Tandem one-hour record

Women's hour record

See also

References