体坛英语新闻：Rio mayor admits Olympic velodrome delay

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes admitted work on the 2016 Olympic velodrome is three weeks behind schedule.

But he played down the significance of the delay, saying it is the only venue at Rio's Olympic Park complex that is running late.

"It is not a tragedy and [the lost time] will be easily recovered," Paes was quoted saying by O Globo on Friday. "For Brazilian standards it is almost music to the ears. We are confident that it will be delivered on time."

Work on the velodrome, which began in February, was halted in April due to a worker strike. Valued at 50 million US dollars, the facility is due to be completed by December 2015.

In April, International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates described Rio's Games preparations as "the worst I have experienced".

Efforts have since been made to accelerate work and last month the US Olympic committee managing director Leslie Gamez described the city's progress as "stunning".