Inside Manchester's velodrome, home of British Cycling

The success of Great Britain's cyclists at London 2012 has its roots in Manchester, thanks to the city's velodrome.

The arena was built on the site of a former coalmine and opened in 1994.

Manchester councillor Jim Battle said that when the city decided to build it, most people did not know what a velodrome was and "dived for the dictionary".

"When they actually understood, they said it was mad," he said.

However, since opening the velodrome has become the home of British Cycling and is the base for Britain's Olympic cycling greats Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Bradley Wiggins and Jason Kenny.