When you drive up to the Tucson Velodrome, the first words out of the mouths of most visitors are the same: Wowit looks like a spaceship.

Its no spaceship. Its the Tucson Velodrome, more than two years in the makingand it was worth every minute of the wait.

Entirely privately funded, the $5 million facility is the worlds first aluminum velodrome, engineered to shrug off Tucsons triple-digit summer heat without warping or cracking. At 250 meters long with 42-degree banking, the track lets top riders hit speeds up to 50 mph while the Santa Catalina Mountains rise dramatically in the background.John Walsh, a USA Cycling coach who just relocated from Oregon to lead programs here, cant hide his excitement. You have the mountains in the background and the way it was designed, he says, gesturin

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