Imagine yourself standing before this hulking, seemingly abandoned, concrete structure. It rises up from the ground like a forgotten giant, its once gleaming surface of the cycle track now dulled and cracked by years of neglect. This, my friends, is the Tor Kolarski Nowe Dynasy, a relic of a bygone era of glory days of Polish cycling.
It wasn’t always like this. Back in 1972, when this velodrome was brand new, it was the pride of the city. Its construction was funded by the nearby Polish Optical Works – PZO. It was the brainchild of Janusz Kalbarczyk, a celebrated Polish speed skater and architect. At the time, it was the most modern velodrome in the country and quickly became the hub of Polish track cycling. It once hosted the Polish Championships multiple times, even played host to the European Junior Championships in 1974.
The velodrome witnessed the training regime of the Polish national team as they trained hard for the World Championships in Montreal in 1972. It was on this track that Janusz Kowalski, the first Polish Olympic cyclist to win gold since WWII, and Ryszard Szurkowski, who won silver, honed their skills. Just imagine the roar of the crowd, the scent of fresh asphalt, the echo of the riders’ pounding of the pedals.
The Tor Kolarski Nowe Dynasy hosted so many memorable events, and its history is interwoven with the stories of legendary Polish cyclists like Konrad Czajkowski, Miroslaw Jurek, Szymon Kornacki, and Tomasz Zawistowski. Sadly, despite its glorious past, the velodrome fell into disrepair. It went into decline and is now deemed no longer fit for events, standing as a silent sentinel of a lost sporting era. There are plans to revitalize the space. Maybe one day it’ll be a place for residents to roam and enjoy a green, multi-functional park.
But for now, it stands here, a solemn monument to the past, whispering tales of triumph and tenacity. It might seem like a crumbling wasteland now, but deep within this concrete shell, it still harbors the spirit of that glorious history.