L'Anneau de Vitesse, Outdoor speed skating venue in Parc Paul Mistral, Grenoble, France

L'Anneau de Vitesse is an outdoor oval speed skating track in Parc Paul Mistral, built in 1966 for the 1968 Winter Olympics. Its 400 m loop, 14 m wide, lies on a concrete slab cooled by over 125 km of ammonia-refrigerated tubing, with concrete grandstands seating 2,500.

The programme for the 1968 Winter Olympics was set up in September 1964, and the site was assigned to Grenoble that same year. Construction ran from February to November 1966, and mayor Hubert Dubedout inaugurated the ring on 23 December 1966. The first international competitions took place in January 1967, and the ice was laid over two days and nights in December 1967.

The venue helped establish Grenoble's identity as a winter sports hub. People come here to watch speed skating competitions and experience the city's connection to ice sports tradition.

The venue is located within Parc Paul Mistral and is accessible by car, with parking spaces for people with disabilities. Visitors should check in advance about event schedules and training times when the facility may have restricted access.

The ice was made in two days and two nights in December 1967. Organisers credited the four world records of the 1968 Games, two of them ratified, to a perfectly flat concrete slab, even cold distribution and demineralised Grenoble water rather than untreated water.