Fowlmead Country Park

Olympic Training Centre

Cycling: BMX, Cycling: Mountain Bike, Cycling: Road

Fowlmead Country Park is a 80 hectare sports and country park which was regenerated in 2004 from a former coal mine waste tip. Situated 16km from the port of Dover and within easy reach of London, Fowlmead Country Park is an ideal Pre-Games Training Camp venue for road cycling and mountain Biking.

Fowlmead has a smooth 3.5km tarmac road race/time trial cycle circuit which can be divided into a 1.5km circuit, a two kilometre circuit or the full 3.5km circuit. The circuit is six metres wide and eight metres wide on its finishing straight. British Cycling, the UK's national governing body for Cycling have described the circuit as among the best outdoor tarmac road cycle circuits in the UK.

Mountain biking (MTB) at Fowlmead covers a variety of terrain over its 80-hectare area, including technical wooded sections and open land. MTB courses can be adapted to suit user needs and can extend to eight kilometres or more in length. Good drainage on Fowlmead's MTB courses and single-track mean that it is genuinely an all-weather mountain biking venue.

Accommodation can be arranged within a 10-minute drive at two country club and resort park sites offering chalet accommodation, swimming pools, tennis courts, quiet surroundings and restaurant/cafe facilities where catering can be tailored to athletes' specific needs. Accommodation at the University of Kent at Canterbury will also be available, comprising 4500 rooms with en suite facilities within 30 minutes driving time.

Sports science and sports medical services, steam and sauna room facilities and Olympics-standard weights, fitness, strength and conditioning equipment will also be made available at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Fowlmead hosts international, national and regional road race and time trial cycling events, as well as cyclocross races, bike-run-bike duathlons, multi-terrain running races, and charity and community fund-raising running and leisure-cycling events.

There is car parking for some 500 cars and 30 coaches. Fowlmead is currently undergoing the process of planning and constructing permanent accommodation and it is envisaged that the main building will have changing and shower facilities, a bike wash area, cafe/restaurant and a main hall offering classroom and seminar facilities, as well as space for turbo training and rest and recreation facilities. Further additional accommodation can be brought in specifically to supplement the permanent accommodation for the Pre-Games Training Camp period. The venue can be made available on an exclusive use basis by arrangement.

Fowlmead Country Park is a unique cycling facility, able to provide world-class racing and training facilities for road racing and time trialling and mountain biking. The close proximity of Fowlmead to Britain's south-east coastal ports of Dover and Ramsgate (and therefore continental Europe), as well as its location 130 kilometres from London, 143 kilometres from Gatwick Airport, 177 kilometres from Stanstead Airport and 182 kilometres from Heathrow Airport, make Fowlmead Country Park an excellent facility for pre-games acclimatisation and training for road racing and mountain biking.

Hosting experience
Fowlmead Country Park hosts international, national and regional road racing, time trialling and MTB events. In July 2007 the World Handcycling Federation held their 2007 Tour de France-supported world championship handcycling time trials at Fowlmead.

Fowlmead hosts the British Cycling National Masters road race championships event as well as the British Cycling National Junior road race championships. The League of Veteran Racing Cyclists (LVRC) national road race and time trials events are held at the Fowlmead circuit along with London League Cyclocross Series events.

There are regular regional road races at Fowlmead run by the South East Road Race League (SERRL) along with numerous time trial events.

British Schools Cycling Association (BSCA) National MTB Championships take place on the Fowlmead MTB circuits along with regional MTB events.

Regular duathlons, multi-terrain running and cycling races also take place at Fowlmead.

Sport facility specifications
Olympic sports
Cycling - BMX
UCI or BCA Certification
Cycling - MTB
Length of designated trail : 8km
UCI or BCA CertificationCycling - Road
Closed Road Circuit