Adelaide is one step closer to becoming the cycling capital of Australia thanks to a revolutionary wind tunnel at the SuperDrome

A tender has been released for a world-first sports wind tunnel at the Adelaide SuperDrome which will make Adelaide the cycling capital of Australia. As part of a $10.55 million overhaul of the Adelaide SuperDrome a hi-tech multi-sport wind tunnel will be created to help the Australian track cycling team that is based there. As well as being a world first – a sports wind tunnel co-located with a velodrome – it will also make South Australia the home of the National Centre for Sports Aerodynamics, with the upgrade developed in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport who have chipped in $1.5 million. Sports Minister Corey Wingard said a tender had been released to construct the facility at the State Sports Park – and hoped that other similar sports-tech ventures could be lured to Gepps Cross. “We don’t want other states or territories pinching our national track program. We do it so well here in South Australia and this project will help us keep it here,” he said. “Not only that, this will make our facility one of the best in the world and help to cement South Australia as the cycling capital.” “This is a world leading project. Having this facility directly next to our velodrome means athletes can immediately apply what they learn from the wind tunnel testing in the every day training environment.” Wingard said it was hoped the tunnel and associated facility would be operational in the first half of next year and believed it would play a key role in Australia’s preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympics. “It’s been a long time since Australia won an Olympic gold medal in cycling – for the men it was back in 2004 and for the women it was 2012. It’s time we reasserted our dominance in the world of cycling,” he said. Other upgrades as part of the SuperDrome revamp include new velodrome heating, sports lightning – which is already complete – an upgraded timing system and other UCI requirements for national and international events.