Organisers of the Olympic Games in Rio insist that the velodrome due to hold the track cycling events will be completed this month, enabling riders to train there ahead of going for gold in August.
Earlier this week, the contract with the firm that had been building the venue was cancelled after it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The contract has now been awarded to Engetecnica, a sub-contractor on the much-delayed project, reports Reuters.
With just two months to go before the opening ceremony, other issues of concern include the Zika virus and political instability as a result of the impeachment and forthcoming trial of President Dilma Rousseff.
Presenting the organising committee’s final progress report to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, its president Carlos Nuzman said the velodrome “will be in condition for athletes to train” by the end of this month.
A test event at the venue was first postponed to April then cancelled as it became clear that the venue would not be ready, and the UCI has become increasingly worried about whether it will be ready in time for the Games.
In a statement last week, it said: “The UCI remains extremely concerned about ongoing delays to the construction of the Velodrome and have raised regular concerns with the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the IOC.
“It has been a very difficult process and the fact that these delays have pushed back any form of test event is very worrying.
“There is still a lot of work to do to ensure that riders have the best competition conditions possible. Time really is running out.”
In recent days, USA road cyclist Tejay van Garderen, whose wife is pregnant, ruled himself out of contention for Rio as a result of concerns over the Zika virusm which is carried by mosquitos and can cause birth defects.
But Guzman, citing the World Health Organization, told the IOC that there were no grounds for changing the venue of the Olympics.
A spokesman for the organising committee said: "We had zero cases of Zika in 44 test events involving 7,000 athletes and 8,000 volunteers."
Ruling out the launch of a public information campaign, he added: “Women planning to get pregnant have to take extra care and it is up to them and their families to decide."
"Must get in front. Must get in front" If they were thinking at all.
presumably the administrators of whats left of Wiggle that Mikey didnt buy....
Yup! Like the city in Italy and the famous French caesar were named after a cake... (ask Shelly Tambo from "Northern Exposure")!
Very nice read, Personally i think the part of the bike your disliking mostly boils down to the tyers and wheels. Shove some alpinsts in there and...
Of course, there are the nice agricultural parts around the borders – I cycle in them regularly – but I would imagine introducing separate...
He is the pride of Worcester. We should remove the statue to Edward Elgar and put a statue to him up. Sadly, he's not up for eviction/re-election...
Ipswich residents try to improve Humber Doucy Lane traffic, essentially they want to create an LTN....
Amen!...
Aboslutely love them, one of the few dogs that I'll happily appoach on the street, she was my second and I'm considering another (but I don't...
I don't know what the formal meaniing is for those bike markings on roads....