Britain has become world-renowned for cycling fast in circles. Thanks to a surge in investment, much of it coming from UK Sport, we're now blessed with world class facilities – multi-million pound medal factories that churn out world beating cyclists. But as well as hosting international athletes, these velodromes are open to anybody. Year round, they play host to track leagues and taster sessions; the cycling equivalent of playing 5-a-side at Wembley.

It wasn't always thus. Many of today’s champions will have started on a velodrome of different sorts – outdoors, most likely tarmacked circuits that were bigger than our indoor versions and therefore less steep, but just as fun to ride. The remnants of these outdoor tracks are still dotted around the country – many a hangover from Victorian Britain and the track cycling heyday of the late 19th Century, when there were 26 velodromes in London alone.

In his book Ride! Ride! Ride!, Mark Welling writes that press reports at the time record “a plethora of temporary and permanent circuits on surfaces ranging from grass and cinders through to wood and cement. Fulham, Chiswick, Crystal Palace, Surbiton, Alexandra Palace, Kennington, Wood Green, Paddington, Kensal Rise, Balham, Bow Grounds, Stamford Bridge and Sheen all held regular race meetings.”