Brazil is to become home to one of South America’s leading cycling venues and training bases once work on the Rio Olympic Velodrome is completed in 2015.

The Velodrome, which is to be based at the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, will host track cycling events at the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

The concept is to feature 5,000 permanent seats and 800 temporary seats, with the Velodrome being built with environmental principles in mind as the project seeks to obtain an LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

The Velodrome is to become a major feature of the region’s Olympic legacy, when it combines with three Olympic Halls, a tennis centre and the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park once the Games are over, in order to create a progressive training and accommodation centre for athletes once the event leaves town.

In 2011, AECOM won the bid to produce the master plan for the Rio games, with its reach catering for both for Olympic and Paralympic events.

Other structures being created for the 2016 event include the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Olympic Hall, Olympic Tennis Centre and an Olympic Golf Course.