Unbeknownst to many New Yorkers, amid the undergrowth of Kissena Park in Flushing, Queens, lies a 400-meter velodrome. Built by Robert Moses in 1962, it was the site of the 1964 Olympic Trials. Today it’s a little rough around the edges and in perpetual need of repair, like the city itself. But it’s the cherished home of a small yet dynamic racing scene, as well as the Star Track Youth Cycling Program—a developmental program that has been nurturing new generations of racers and riders for going on 20 years.
The program was founded in 2004 by the late Dierdre Murphy Bader, a NYC bike racer who rode for Ireland in the 2000 Olympics, along with Delroy Walters, a local track legend and winner of multiple National and World Championship titles. “My vision was to be able to have kids, inner-city kids, anybody, try bike racing,” Murphy Bader explained in a 2009 video. What began as a modest program with around 20 kids now serves close to 200, with a structure that not only introduces new riders to cycling, but also identifies those who catch the “competitive bug” and takes them “to the next level,” says Michael Sandler, a Star Track coach. The program is free for participants and has been since its inception. To get started, kids need only meet two requirements: be at least 8 years of age and know how to ride a bike.
Star Track has become a major presence at track cycling races across the U.S. and beyond. Sandler estimates they’ve brought home more than 50 junior, elite, and collegiate national championship jerseys over the years—impressive for any cycling program, let alone one with limited funding based at an outdoor venue without lights in a city park. “We want to be the program that can bring an 8-year-old into track racing and take [them] all the way to the Olympics,” says Peter Taylor, co-executive director. The ultimate dream for Star Track is an indoor velodrome. With a year-round facility “we’d produce an Olympic champion in 10 years,” he says. But between the costs and logistics, such a facility is unlikely.
Every fall they put as many new riders as they “safely and comfortably can” into the beginner class, which these days usually means about 50 kids from a waitlist of around 100.
From the start, the program has made it a goal to reflect the diversity of their home base in Queens, which Sandler describes as “the most diverse neighborhood in the most diverse city in the world.” To that end, Star Track routinely attracts a large number of participants from the AAPI, Black, and Hispanic communities.
Season after season, it’s watching this progression that brings Sandler the most joy: “Seeing 8-year-olds with that glimmer in their eye… I can’t wait to see where they’ll be in five years.”
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Eben Weiss has written the Bike Snob NYC blog since 2007. He’s also the author of several books about cycling, and he prefers steel bikes with rim brakes and mechanical shifting. He lives in New York City with his family.
