Track cycling in Britain has an almost mythological quality. You picture Chris Hoy thundering round a bankered wooden bowl, legs spinning at speeds that make no sense, the crowd a blur. It feels like a world that belongs to someone else. Except it doesn’t. Most of the major velodromes in Britain actively want beginners to walk through the door, clip in and give it a go. I’ve been to a couple of these sessions myself, and what strikes you immediately is how un-intimidating the whole thing is once you’re actually there. Track cycling for beginners UK-wide is far more accessible than people realise, and this guide covers where to go, what it costs and what happens when you do.
The big names: nationally recognised velodromes open to the public
The National Cycling Centre in Manchester is the obvious starting point. Home to the Great Britain Cycling Team, it runs regular public taster sessions on its 250-metre indoor track. Beginners use fixed-gear track bikes provided by the venue, and a qualified coach talks you through the basics before anyone goes near the banking. Sessions cost around £20-£25 per person and typically run for 90 minutes. The track is 42-degree bankered at the ends, which looks absolutely vertical until you’re actually on it moving at pace, at which point it somehow makes sense. Book through the National Cycling Centre website and expect sessions to fill up fast, particularly at weekends.
The Lee Valley VeloPark in east London, built for the 2012 Olympics, runs a similar programme. Its 250-metre indoor track is one of the fastest in the world, and they offer beginner taster sessions as well as more structured Breeze and Go-Ride style programmes for those who want regular access. Cost is comparable to Manchester, around £22 for a taster. If you’re travelling from outside London, it sits close to Stratford station, so getting there is straightforward. The venue also has an outdoor BMX track and road circuit if you fancy making a full day of it.
In Scotland, the Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow (officially the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome at the Emirates Arena) runs public sessions and is a stunning facility. It was built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and holds 2,000 spectators. Glasgow Life manages the bookings, and they offer both taster sessions and development programmes. If you’re already into other endurance sports and want to understand how track training crosses over, it’s worth reading about how UK endurance athletes are building aerobic capacity alongside their track work, because the two disciplines share more physiological overlap than you’d expect.
Smaller regional velodromes worth knowing about
Manchester and London dominate the conversation, but there are decent regional options across Britain that are far less crowded and often cheaper to access.
The Derby Arena velodrome is a 250-metre indoor track that opened in 2018. It runs public cycling sessions and beginner inductions, and being a newer facility it has good kit hire and coaching provision. Prices for taster sessions sit around £18-£20. Herne Hill Velodrome in south London is older and outdoor, but it’s a proper historic track with real character, and it runs regular open sessions plus Go-Ride coaching through British Cycling. Entry to open sessions can be as low as £5.
The Calshot Velodrome in Hampshire is housed in an old RAF aircraft hangar, which makes for a genuinely unique atmosphere. It’s a shorter 142-metre track with steep banking, so speeds feel higher than at the big venues. Calshot Activities Centre runs taster sessions, group coaching and more advanced programmes. Cost tends to be around £15-£18 for an introductory session.
Further north, the Cycling UK network and local clubs can point you towards outdoor tracks in places like Preston (the Tom Finney Sports Centre area), Edinburgh’s Meadowbank (currently being rebuilt) and Middlesbrough’s Prissick track. These are often run by local cycling clubs affiliated with British Cycling, and costs are minimal, sometimes just a small club session fee.
What actually happens at a beginner taster session
Every reputable venue follows a similar structure. You arrive, sign a waiver, get fitted to a track bike (usually a fixie with no freewheel and no brakes, which throws people at first) and then a coach walks you through the mechanics of riding fixed. You’ll start on the flat part of the track, called the apron, before gradually moving up the banking as your confidence builds. Nobody is expecting you to sprint. The whole point of the first session is getting comfortable with the bike and understanding how the track works.
Helmet hire is always included. Cycling shoes are sometimes available but many venues ask you to bring your own or use trainers with cage pedals. Wear close-fitting clothing; loose trousers near a fixed drivetrain is genuinely not a good idea.
One thing I’d flag: the physical demand catches people off guard. Track bikes are efficient but unforgiving. You can’t coast, you can’t brake conventionally, and the fixed gear means your legs are always moving. If you’re already training with a fitness wearable or GPS kit, the data you’ll get from even a one-hour session is eye-opening. The output numbers tend to be significantly higher than equivalent road cycling time. If you use GPS-based training tools, the comparison to how clubs like British rugby clubs use GPS tracking to manage workload is useful context: the principle of monitoring intensity and recovery applies just as much to track cyclists as it does to rugby forwards.
How to progress beyond a taster session
British Cycling runs the Go-Ride programme for younger riders and the Breeze scheme for women. For adults wanting structured development, most velodromes offer a pathway: taster session, beginner coaching block (usually 4-6 weeks), then intermediate group sessions. From there, you can join a local cycling club with track access and start racing at club level.
Track racing at club level in Britain is more welcoming than outsiders imagine. Events like the National Track League, which British Cycling organises, have multiple ability categories. The format events (scratch race, points race, keirin, team sprint) each reward different strengths, so raw speed isn’t the only entry point. For anyone thinking about getting competitive, British Cycling’s membership costs around £48 per year and gives you access to licensed racing plus insurance cover.
Nutrition matters more than most beginners expect. Short explosive track efforts demand different fuelling to long road rides. You’ll want carbohydrates on board, and recovery nutrition immediately after is genuinely important. The detail on nutrition timing mistakes UK recreational athletes make is relevant reading before your first few sessions, because getting it wrong is easy when the effort feels shorter than it actually is.
If you’re trying to work out how to plan your training schedule or find coaching resources beyond your local velodrome, the bannerads.uk guides section covers sports and fitness information resources that can help you navigate the wider landscape of UK sport. British Cycling’s own track cycling pages are also a solid starting point for finding affiliated clubs and upcoming open sessions near you.
Costs at a glance
To give you a practical summary: taster sessions at major indoor velodromes run £18-£25 including bike hire. Smaller or outdoor tracks can be as low as £5 for an open session. A 4-6 week beginner coaching block typically costs £60-£90 depending on the venue. British Cycling membership is £48 annually for adults. None of this is cheap, but it’s considerably less than most people assume when they think about an Olympic-grade sport.
Track cycling in Britain doesn’t belong to the elite. It belongs to anyone willing to book a session. Manchester, London, Glasgow, Derby, Calshot, Herne Hill: pick the one closest to you and go. The banking will look terrifying for about 30 seconds. Then you’ll be leaning into it at speed, and the whole thing will feel completely natural.