Velodrome

An ongoing series i have just begun is titled ‘Velodrome’. Velodromes are a source of heightened emotion for me. They both excite me and scare me. As a photographer this is the perfect tension point and creates a unique drive for me to want to visit and photograph them. My aim is to cover every velodrome in Victoria. So far I have shot Brunswick, Kyneton, Carnegie-Caulfield and Ballarat velodromes.

When I was sixteen, after a lot of injuries playing footy, I was told to get on a bike to strengthen my quads. In doing so it created a love of cycling that started in the early 90’s long before the word MAMAL (Middle-Aged Men in Lycra) even existed!

I started riding track cycling at the Brunswick velodrome. I loved the adrenaline, the speed and the sheer joy of swooping down the track onto the flat after building speed on the embankment. I raced for a number of years until I had a spectacular crash on Austral wheel night at the old Northcote velodrome. I ended up in hospital after landing on my head. I was knocked out cold and slid on my face to the bottom of the track. It basically ended my cycling career - not because of an injury but because I lost my nerve. It takes a lot of nerve to ride and race on a velodrome. High speed, high stakes, high chance of crashing. I decided racing wasn’t for me, instead I now love watching it and in particular the very late nights in July whilst watching the Tour de France.

© Christian Pearson - Ballarat Sebastopol Velodrome, 2025