Inside the velodrome where Canada's track cyclists train

By Callum Ng, CBC Sports

The Mattamy National Cycling Centre is as vibrant and spectacular as its grand name would suggest.

• Sullivan, O'Brien bring friendship, fierce competition

Also known as the Milton Velodrome, the indoor timber track is dazzling; 250 metres of smoothly layered Siberian Spruce, chosen for its hardness, and assembled to allow feather-light bikes to whip around at 80 km/h.

"This is man and machine connected in the most intimate of ways, and the facilities themselves tend to reflect that beauty and harmony of sport, machine, and infrastructure," said Erin Hartwell, Canada's national sprint coach.  

The Southern Ontario velodrome is the training home for many of Canada's Olympic track cyclists.

It was built for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and houses a windfall of luxury, including a Team Canada weight room, a stocked kitchen, an athlete lounge, and an expansive bike room.

But don't expect complacency from the athletes, it wasn't always like this, "It was really special the first day we walked in to the track here," said sprinter Monique Sullivan, who counts Rio 2016 as her second Olympics.

"We never had a home before, leading up to London [Olympic Games] we were training at the Los Angeles velodrome and it wasn't ours. We knew that we were in someone else's backyard."

Before Milton became an option, Canada's sprint cyclists had to travel, and squeeze in training time at the busy VELO Sports Centre in Carson, Calif., about half-an-hour south of L.A.    

Milton a rare space

Milton is a developing community west of Oakville, Ont., where the velodrome sits in lush green hills, slowly encroached upon by burgeoning suburban developments.

Milton and Los Angeles are the only two covered tracks in North American accredited by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for international events.

Such a rare building allows a special training environment. The track is closed down daily for Sullivan, 27, and fellow 2016 Olympian Kate O'Brien, 28, for their sprint training session.

"A year-and-a-half ago we didn't have this facility, we were a transient program," said Hartwell.

He points out the majority of international competitions are now held at indoor velodromes similar to Milton's, instead of outside in the elements.

"We now have a very consistent, what we call, 'daily training environment.' Our atmospheric conditions are always the same, it's now very easy for us to do direct comparisons to a variety of training sessions."

Hartwell is always joined by a collection of sport scientists to measure and track Sullivan and O'Brien.

"We are very serious, our efforts are super high intensity so we do have to be at that edge all the time, but because we're friends we can add a little bit of lightness in which I think is super important," said Sullivan.

"It's challenging because we never get a day where we can just coast through the day and just get through it. If I'm not at my best, Kate is there, she's going to crush me. It holds us both accountable."  

Not as scary as it looks

There's always danger to manage at a track, with steep 42-degree banks in the corners (or bends) in Milton.

"The other thing about tracks is that each one has their own personality," said Sullivan. "I think of it [Milton] as a friendlier track to ride, it's a bit easier to get on."

Although she admits it can be daunting to a regular person, "it definitely has a presence and if it's your first time seeing the track it looks pretty scary. The truth is the banking is there to protect you. If it wasn't there you wouldn't be able to go fast."