NEWPORT'S velodrome has suffered a double blow. Olympic hero Bradley Wiggins will not return to the Wales National Velodrome to defend his crown after a championship race was cancelled.

And the council revealed the venue is set to be £90,000 in the red by March next year.

The European Derny Championships next month were cancelled when the Welsh Cycling Union (WCU) could not find the estimated £30,000 needed to host the event.

Bradley Wiggins took the title last year on the opening night of the £7m velodrome. He went on to take Olympic gold, silver and bronze in Athens this summer.

The track cycling star was due to ride in the Derny event - where a motorbike paces riders at high speeds round the wooden oval.

Wiggins would have joined other Olympic gold riders Chris Hoy and Jason Queally in an evening of races at Newport on November 19.

Bill Owen, Abergavenny-based chairman of the WCU, said: "It's a major disappointment for everyone involved, but it is something we had to do. Having our Olympic riders here and riding around our velodrome would have been a huge honour on the back of their successes in Athens."

The cancellation is a major setback for Newport's growing reputation as a hotspot of cycling action. This year the city has attracted the British road race championships and a stage in the Tour of Britain.

The council also said the cycle track and its leisure facilities are not pulling their weight and, if current trends continue, its revenue will fall £90,000 short of its budget by the end of March.

Iain Varah, head of culture and leisure, said use of the cycle track had not been as strong as expected.

Councillor John Guy, cabinet member for culture and leisure, said traffic jams from the construction of the Southern Distributor Road were putting customers off.

He said: "There's plenty going on there but people feel restricted by the SDR. We've got a fantastic facility there and I'm sure things will turn the corner when the SDR is completed."