Construction has begun on the BMX track for the London 2012 Games, the Olympic Delivery Authority announced today.

The BMX track is located next to the velodrome – officially unveiled last week – in the north of the Olympic Park and will have 6,000 temporary seats to host the Olympic BMX competition next year.

After the Games, the temporary seating will be removed and the track reconfigured to make it suitable for riders of all ages and abilities, making it a key part of the legacy VeloPark where the velodrome and BMX facilities will be joined by a mountain bike course and road cycling circuit.

And London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe believes the BMX track will form an integral part of the Games’ cycling legacy.

“We always said the Games should inspire change, and the BMX track will add a world-class facility to the VeloPark for elite competitors next summer and for community users of all abilities in legacy,” he said.

“This will be an exceptional venue for this exciting and energetic young sport further enhancing London 2012’s legacy for cyclists in the UK.”

BMX is the newest Olympic addition, making its debut at the Beijing Games in 2008, with Brit Shanaze Reader, world champion in 2007, 2008 and 2010, among the gold medal favourites.

The 400m circuit will include a series of jumps, bumps and tightly banked corners, with the first stage of construction involving 14,000m3 of soil, cleaned and reused from elsewhere on the Olympic Park site and enough to fill three Olympic swimming pools.

The track is due for completion in summer 2011, in time to be put through its pace in a test event in August.

ODA Chairman John Armitt added: “With the construction of the velodrome now complete, the start of work on the BMX track is the next piece in the jigsaw of delivering a world-class cycling legacy from the Games.

“The track will be a first-class venue for the world’s best riders in 2012 and after the Games, the reconfigured course will be a great facility for people of all ages and abilities to try out this exciting and growing sport.”