The velodrome where Leo Tolstoy raced has been rebuilt. Why is this important for Tula?

Why is it remarkable?

It is one of the oldest sports facilities in Russia. At the Tula Velodrome – it was built in 1896 – Leo Tolstoy himself rode a bike! Yes! It was real.

At the age of 67, Lev Nikolaevich mastered cycling and first showed himself as a road racer – he traveled from Yasnaya Polyana to Tula. Foreign media also wrote about it. Scientific American confirmed: “Count Leo Tolstoy now rides a bicycle, astonishing the peasants of his estate.”

And when the velodrome opened in Tula, of course, Tolstoy also started track practice . Of course, Lev Nikolaevich would be happy to know that cycling in Tula is still very popular and the track has already undergone several reconstructions. The most recent officially ended in December.

What did Tula bring to cycling?

Many Olympic champions and Games medalists, world record holders. In Tula, even the mayor comes from cycling: Olga Slyusareva is our last Olympic champion on the track so far.

– There has always been a love for cycling in Tula, – says Slyusareva. “Recently the interest in cycling has only grown. I started to notice more people cycling even to work. Many businesses can be seen – there are bikes and personal bikes At one point there was a decline in interest, now even families are leaving.The time has come when it has become fashionable, now for many, I hope, it is already a mode of The culture of the attitude of drivers towards the cyclist still leaves something to be desired, but progress has been made in this area.

Where is the mayor of the city going by bike?

– We live out of town, and I ride there. The kids try to drag me to some kind of extreme – mum, let’s go, it’s great out there – they drag me on the bike in the forest to ride, in the mud. But I like to ride for fun.

Now in Tula they are working on a huge cycling infrastructure project. They want to make a tourist route with good cycle paths, stops at tourist sites. There is already a working title – “Velohavy Leo Tolstoy”.

Track in the spotlight

Watch on YouTube

But it all started with the opening of the velodrome – first they rode under kerosene lamps, now under floodlights. Slyusareva speaks of the track cloth as a sacred relic:

– Everyone is worried about the web! It’s untouchable! This track is unique. I went to different velodromes every year, but my track was everything to me. The particularity is that if you have worked at our velodrome, you will be ready to perform at any time. It is a place of power. Our canvas is heavy compared to parquet, its preparation gives endurance and allows you not to fall into this “oil” on the tree.

An important point is that the Tula Velodrome is open, which means that you have to withstand all weather conditions in training. “We’ll go through the warm-up – we hid in the box, drank tea and again on the canvas under a little snowball. That was 1995 – then in Colombia, at +35 after that tiny little snowball.

Why was the renovation done?

Let’s start with the fact that the entire cycling community of Tula struggled without a track for two years. There are only a few tracks in Russia, and there are a lot of kids and professionals biking in Tula. The strongest runners were sent to St. Petersburg for long-term training camps, and a children’s bike path was opened in Zarechye, and training sessions took place there already at the end of the season. ‘summer.

And the velodrome was closed, and not just to make the same awning over the precious canvas and the supporters’ stands. A lot has changed in the arena.

— They made two large gymnasiums for us, big in size, — said the trainer of Marathon-Tula Nesterov. – One for sports training groups, the second – for the elite. By the way, we even have exercise equipment from Tula, some of the simulators were specially developed for us – up to 700 kg load, so that we could work out in peace.

There is now a hotel on the second floor of the velodrome – those coming to starts and training camps will be able to stay there.

— It was important to us that the updated track included the necessary infrastructure. Halls, a hotel, so that the object is self-sufficient in this regard, – says Valery Grinkovsky, a member of the Presidium of the Russian Cycling Federation. — As for the canopy, it protects the canvas and the bleachers, we have also increased the number of seats for the spectators.

The same visor will increase the possibility of training for trackers for at least two months a year – April and November are a plus.

“There will be no need to travel south or anywhere else during these months,” confirms Nesterov. – Those two years we spent without a track meant additional costs, but there were no other options. Now it will be easier.

When will training and competitions start on the track?

— We have already scheduled the Tula Grand Prix, three Russian championships on this velodrome during the 2023 season. As soon as the weather permits, the Tula riders will be able to start training. So in the spring, maximum in April – let’s see what the weather will be like this spring – our runners can start training on the updated track, – says Grinkovsky.

In the meantime, the best runners in Tula are preparing to continue the season. It will resume on January 18 in Saint Petersburg. It is not yet known whether the season will be international, but the Tula Grand Prix will now take place in exactly all weather conditions.