体坛英语新闻：Rio delays Olympic track cycling test event

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Construction delays have forced the postponement of the Rio 2016 track cycling test event, Olympic organizers said on Friday.

The three-day competition had been scheduled for March 18-20 but will now be held from April 29 to May 1, according to Rio2016.com.

"The change of date is due to a delay in preparation works for the track installation," the official Rio 2016 website said.

No reason was given for the delay.

The velodrome is among the least advanced of Rio's Olympic venues. In a construction update published last month, the venue was shown to be 76% complete.

Only Youth Arena, which will stage basketball and fencing, was further behind at 75%.

One of seven new venues being built at Rio Olympic Park, the velodrome is due to be fully ready on April 29.

The Rio 2016 organizing committee issued a separate statement saying the delay would have "no impact on Games-time competitions".

Olympic track cycling will take place from August 11 to 16 while Paralympic track cycling will he held from September 8 to 11.