Bay of Plenty Regional Council is hearing about why it should fund the Home of Cycling development in Cambridge today at an annual plan hearing.

The cyclists want $4 million from the regional council to help pay for the $29.5 million velodrome project, called Home of Cycling, for Cambridge.

The regional council has received more than 800 submissions in support of the proposal from cyclists and cycling supporters across the central North Island.

The same submissions were presented to the Tauranga City Council's annual plan submission last week, seeking the city's endorsement of the proposal to have the regional council coordinate regional fundraising from local authorities.

If the Waikato BOP based Home of Cycling Trust is unable to raise the money from local authorities, failed bidders Auckland and Palmerston North will get a second look.

Tauranga Road Cycling Club president Greg Taylor says a velodrome at Cambridge will be fantastic for Tauranga.

'In line with rowing, cycling is a sport kiwis seem to perform best on the world stage in, and I think that a high performance centre in the Waikato will be hugely beneficial for the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and New Zealand athletes to improve in their cycling ability both for the national and world stage. I think it will be fantastic.”

There is a velodrome in Southland, but it is just so far away from anywhere and the weather even in summer is atrocious, says Greg.

'You need to complement your track riding with road riding as well,” says Greg.

'The roads of the Waikato are fantastic for cycling on, there are lots of small roads around there, plenty of hills, but people bag Tauranga as a cycling place and I think Tauranga is fantastic.”