Photos: Sanding Steep Velodrome Using Ropes and Pulleys

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Workers sanding the Velódrom d'Horta.
Workers sanding the Velódrom d'Horta.

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Controlling a big machine on flat ground takes muscle and finesse. But maneuvering a big machine up and down the 45-degree bank of an Olympic track cycling velodrome? That takes muscle and finesse … and pulleys and rope and a belt (and, apparently, short shorts). These photos, discovered at Lägler headquarters in Güglingen, Germany, and shared by sales serviceman Marc Schulz, show a crew sanding the 270-yard Velòdrom d'Horta, built in 1984 to bid for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, using a 174-pound Hummel. The crew is sanding against the grain, Schulz says, “because they had no other choice.”

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The velodrome in 2010.The velodrome in 2010.

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