You can ride the Olympic velodrome track yourself. A one-hour Velodrome Taster costs £46, is open to anyone aged 12 and over who is at least 145 cm tall, and includes the bike, helmet, gloves and cleats. The BMX track next door is much cheaper at £17.50 and takes children from seven. Walking in to watch, from the café above the track, is free.
Lee Valley VeloPark is at the northern end of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, on Abercrombie Road, E20 3AB. It holds all four Olympic cycling disciplines in one place: the 250-metre indoor velodrome from the 2012 Games, with its Siberian-pine boards; the Olympic BMX track, since remodelled; a floodlit one-mile road circuit; and more than five miles of mountain-bike trails. It is run by GLL under the Better brand on behalf of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, which means it is priced as a public sports facility rather than an attraction.
Our overview of the park and the 2012 legacy lists all the venues. This page is about booking and riding: what each session costs, who is allowed on, what happens if it rains, and what to do if your group cannot all take part.
Riding at Lee Valley VeloPark
- Velodrome Taster
- £46, 60 minutes, age 12+, minimum height 145 cm (4ft 9in). Bike, helmet, gloves and Look Keo cleats included.
- Velodrome and BMX Taster
- £59, 60 minutes on the track and 60 on the BMX with a 30-minute break: 150 minutes in total. Age 12+, minimum height 145 cm.
- BMX Taster
- £17.50, 60 minutes, age 7+, minimum height 127 cm (4ft 2in). Bike and helmet included; gloves £4 to hire.
- Watching
- Free. You can walk in, look at the track and use the café above it.
- Booking
- Online or in the Better app. Sessions are released 60 days ahead, one new day at a time.
- Arrive
- At least 30 minutes before your session. Late arrivals cannot ride and are not refunded.
- Group size
- Maximum six places per session on one booking.
- Address
- Abercrombie Road, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 3AB.
What a family of four actually pays
This is where the age limits bite. The velodrome is 12 and over only, and there is a height floor of 145 cm, so a mixed-age family cannot all ride the track. Three worked examples, at the prices published in September 2026:
| Group | What they can do | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Two adults | Velodrome Taster each | £92 |
| Two adults, two teenagers over 145 cm | Velodrome Taster each | £184 |
| Two adults, a 13-year-old, a 10-year-old | Three on the track, one on the BMX | £155.50 |
| Two adults, two children aged 7 to 11 | BMX Taster each | £70, plus £4 a head if you need gloves |
The lesson is straightforward. If your children are under 12, book the BMX and treat the velodrome as something to look at from the café. If they are over 12 and tall enough, the track is the thing they will remember, and £46 an hour is less than most London experiences that involve a harness.
Watching a track session costs nothing at all. The VeloPark is open for anyone to walk in, stand at the rail and see how steep the banking really is, and the café looks down onto the track. If the price or the age limit rules your group out, this is still one of the best free ten minutes in the Olympic Park.
The Velodrome Taster, hour by hour
The session is an hour and it is a coached introduction rather than a free ride. You are taught to handle a fixed-wheel track bike, which has no brakes and no freewheel, and then taken through the basics of riding the banking safely: where to sit on the track, how to join and leave it, and why you cannot simply stop pedalling.
The equipment comes with the session: bike, helmet, gloves and Look Keo cleats. If you own cycling shoes with Look Keo cleats they will fit the bikes; if you do not, ordinary trainers are accepted for taster sessions. Track mitts or cycling gloves must be worn, and shoulders must be covered, so a vest top will not do.
Two limits catch people out. If you weigh more than 109 kg (17st 2lb) you cannot hire one of the venue's bikes, although you may ride the track on your own track-specific bike. And if you are under 130 cm the venue asks you to contact it before booking to discuss what is possible. Add the 30-minute check-in rule and the hard no-refund line on late arrivals, and this is a session to leave real time for.
The BMX track: cheaper, younger, and outdoors
The BMX Taster is an hour on the Olympic BMX course for £17.50, from age seven and 127 cm. Bike and helmet are included; gloves are not, and cost £4 to hire. Arms and legs must be fully covered, so shorts are out.
There is one condition worth reading twice: riders must be able to ride confidently while standing on the pedals. If they cannot, the venue recommends its Learn to Ride BMX course first rather than the taster. It is also the gateway session, in that you have to have passed a BMX Taster before you are allowed into the skills, race-ready and pay-and-ride sessions.
There are separate taster sessions for 7 to 12 year olds and for 12 and over, so book the right one. Beyond the tasters, the venue runs children's learn-to-ride sessions aimed at building confidence, which is the right starting point for a child who does not yet cycle.
What happens in bad weather
The velodrome is an indoor building, so a track session runs whatever the weather is doing. That makes it one of the very few outdoor-feeling activities in London that is genuinely rain-proof, and it belongs on any list of what to do in London on a rainy day.
The BMX track, the road circuit and the mountain-bike trails are outdoors and they are not. The venue states that during the winter months BMX sessions may be delayed or cancelled depending on the weather and the state of the track, and that the cancellation may come on the day itself, with the venue contacting customers. If you have travelled to London for one afternoon and the whole plan is a BMX session in January, have a second plan.
Arrive 30 minutes early or you lose your money. The rule is printed on every session: report to reception at least half an hour before the start, and late arrivals will not be allowed to ride and will not be refunded. Stratford station to the VeloPark is a 20 to 25 minute walk at the northern end of the park, so leave an hour from central London.
The road circuit, the trails and pay-and-ride
Beyond the two taster experiences, the VeloPark is a working cycling centre. There is a floodlit closed road circuit, a set of mountain-bike trails and pay-and-ride sessions on the BMX track and the velodrome for riders who have been accredited. There are indoor and outdoor gyms and a fitness studio with classes, and memberships if you are staying in London for a while.
We have not printed prices for those, because the venue publishes them only inside its booking system rather than on a readable price list. The three taster sessions above are the ones with published figures. If you have your own bike and want to ride the road circuit, check the current fee when you book, and see our guide to taking a bike on London transport for getting it there.
Getting there
The VeloPark is at the top of the Olympic Park, which is the part most visitors never reach. From Stratford station it is a walk of about 20 to 25 minutes through the park, which is flat and step-free; our walking route through the park ends nearby. Hackney Wick, on the Mildmay line of the Overground, is closer on foot from the west, and our guide to the DLR and the Overground covers the connections.
Cycling there is the obvious option, and the towpaths of the Lea are the way to do it: the park sits inside the much larger Lee Valley Regional Park, which runs north for miles along the river. Our guide to cycling in London covers hire and routes.
Watching racing here
The velodrome holds proper competition as well as taster sessions, and it is worth checking the calendar before you book a ride, because you cannot do both on the same day in the same building. The UCI Masters Track World Championships were listed at the VeloPark for 5 to 11 October 2026.
London's other track is a very different proposition: the open-air velodrome at Herne Hill in south London, which held the cycling at the 1948 Olympics and is still in club use. Our guide to Herne Hill and Dulwich covers that corner of the city.
What else to do on the same trip
The VeloPark is at the far end of the park from the stations, so build a day around it rather than making a special trip. The sensible pairings are all in the same 560 acres: the free Copper Box Arena and the other surviving venues, a swim at the London Aquatics Centre, or the slide down the ArcelorMittal Orbit if the point of the day is adrenaline. Teenagers in particular do well out of this park, as our guide to London with teenagers explains.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to ride the Olympic velodrome?
£46 for a one-hour Velodrome Taster, including the bike, helmet, gloves and cleats. A combined session with an hour on the BMX track as well costs £59 and takes 150 minutes in total. A BMX Taster on its own is £17.50. Prices checked September 2026.
What is the minimum age for the velodrome at Lee Valley VeloPark?
Twelve, with a minimum height of 145 cm, or 4ft 9in. The BMX track takes riders from seven, with a minimum height of 127 cm. Riders under 130 cm who want to hire a bike are asked to contact the venue before booking.
Do you need your own bike or cycling kit?
No. Bike, helmet, gloves and Look Keo cleats are included in the track session, and bike and helmet in the BMX session, where gloves cost £4 to hire. Trainers are accepted. Shoulders must be covered for the track, and arms and legs fully covered for BMX.
Can you visit Lee Valley VeloPark without cycling?
Yes, and it is free. The venue is open for anyone to walk in, look round the velodrome and watch whatever session is on from the café above the track. That is worth doing even if nobody in your group is riding.
Are sessions cancelled if it rains?
Velodrome sessions are indoors and run in any weather. BMX, road-circuit and mountain-bike sessions are outdoors, and the venue warns that in winter BMX sessions may be delayed or cancelled because of weather or track conditions, sometimes on the day itself.
Sources
- Better (GLL) - Lee Valley VeloPark cycling experiences: prices, ages, height limits and conditions (checked September 2026)
- Lee Valley Regional Park Authority - Lee Valley VeloPark (checked September 2026)
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park - Lee Valley VeloPark (checked September 2026)