2012 Olympic MTB course
GhallTN6
Posts: 505
Nope.. don't get it
Surrey Hills
Swinley Forest
Ashdown Forest
And More
But they go for here!!
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2010/07 ... tb-course/
That track is looking oh so technical!!
Surrey Hills
Swinley Forest
Ashdown Forest
And More
But they go for here!!
http://www.singletrackworld.com/2010/07 ... tb-course/
That track is looking oh so technical!!
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Comments
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GhallTN6 wrote:That track is looking oh so technical!!
That maybe so at the moment, but there's obviously an Olympic requirement "Standard" that will have to be met (as in all other competitive racing sports), covering length, technicality etc.
Bet it'll be alreet when it's finished, and (hopefully) open to the masses after the games have finished.0 -
They should of have it on the surrey hills, linking all the trails- up leith hill, back down leith trails, to holmbury, up holmbury, back down holmbury trails to pitch, up pitch then down pitch trails to the finish line- would be epic!0
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Actually its being built just for the games and removed after.
There were alot of threads when this was decided and many of us thought it was an utte joke with some the outstanding terrain the UK has to offer.
I myself over this will jsut be ignoring these olympics, as they didn't take our sport in true seriosuness with these decisions.0 -
They should have have it on the surrey hills, linking all the trails- up leith hill, back down leith trails, to holmbury, up holmbury, back down holmbury trails to pitch, up pitch then down pitch trails to the finish line- would be epic!
a) you're not allowed to race on bridle paths
b) there are very strict UCI guidelines on how an XC course should be
b) race courses that long would be rubbish, no pits, no feed zone, and terrible for spectators.
Swinley was ruled out (among other venues) because of the access problems, you just can't get everyone in there.There were alot of threads when this was decided and many of us thought it was an utte joke with some the outstanding terrain the UK has to offer.
Like it or not it's the London Olympics, not the UK Olympics, and the IOC are keen on that. South Wales was out, and again, a long course like Margam wouldn't be very interesting for spectators/TV anyway, nor would Afan. Fort William, Dalby, Newnham etc are just too far away from London.
It'll be a good course, they'll make it adequately technical, there'll be enough climbs, it'll be a tight cloverleaf style, so it'll look good on TV and be great for spectators. Apparently there's more elevation at Hadleigh Farm than at the Beijing course.0 -
njee20 wrote:There were alot of threads when this was decided and many of us thought it was an utte joke with some the outstanding terrain the UK has to offer.
Like it or not it's the London Olympics, not the UK Olympics, and the IOC are keen on that. South Wales was out, and again, a long course like Margam wouldn't be very interesting for spectators/TV anyway, nor would Afan. Fort William, Dalby, Newnham etc are just too far away from London.
It'll be a good course, they'll make it adequately technical, there'll be enough climbs, it'll be a tight cloverleaf style, so it'll look good on TV and be great for spectators. Apparently there's more elevation at Hadleigh Farm than at the Beijing course.[/quote]
Ok so where is the sailing held?0 -
adequately technical my backside, this is Olympic XC we're talking about.0
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Weymouth.
They down sized that plan too.0 -
If I remember correctly the Mountain Bikin was to be held at The Weald Country Park. Reasons cited included a more technical and challenging requirement for the course.
Latest is that conversations are to be had with partners including Essex County Council and the Salvation Army to explore what course will be left in place for future use, once the temporary structures have been removed.0 -
As above, the sailing is being held in the closest location able to realistically support the event. It was going to be more far flung.
There are also regional football stadia in use, including Hampden Park and St James' Park, I must admit I don't know why, there were plenty of London stadia which would be big enough.
The rowing is at Eton Dorney in Bucks and the kayaking at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. The road race may well move to a Surrey Hills based course too, that's TBC. Otherwise it's all Central London venues.adequately technical my backside, this is Olympic XC we're talking about.
I mean within the context, it will be just what the UCI/IOC want an MTB course to be, so it's won't be round a field. That's the advantage of starting from scratch, they can do whatever they want.0 -
may as well be round a field. Olympic "MTB"ing is a disgrace, it's just roadies on knobbly tyres.0
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I'm with yee on this one strongly.
We can show case the country and what we have here. but we are jsut showing how limited and smallw e are to be fair.0 -
We can show case the country and what we have here. but we are jsut showing how limited and smallw e are to be fair.
That's not what it's about, that's more for the World Cup.
Fewer than 0.1% of the Olympic spectator tickets are for the mountain biking, it has the fewest of any event. I would be surprised if even 1% of the people who go are not mountain bikers!
Roadies on dirt? The Beijing course wasn't bad.
Watch this, see some of the camera angles that pan with the rider, notably the one of Absalon around 1:08, you're gonna really struggle to do all that sort of stuff on a pre-existing course.0 -
Njee,
We have in wales people all over the world flying here to ride, also in scotland
people don't go to essex to ride for a reason. Not gonna convince us i'm afraid. 0 -
I think people need to take into consideration that the event has to be televised and needs to work well with TV cameras and also spectators.
So the route format we normally ride with ie start at A ride for along time and end up at B doesn't really work with TV's. You need a smaller circuit that you can lap many times. This way you don't need a million TV cameras to cover the whole trail and spectators get to see more than the group go by just once never to return.0 -
Not a problem in most decent trail centres though.jairaj wrote:I think people need to take into consideration that the event has to be televised and needs to work well with TV cameras and also spectators.
So the route format we normally ride with ie start at A ride for along time and end up at B doesn't really work with TV's. You need a smaller circuit that you can lap many times. This way you don't need a million TV cameras to cover the whole trail and spectators get to see more than the group go by just once never to return.
Taking Coedy as an example (because I know the forest well)
You could start from the car park, head along badgers, then up the climb to Kane and Abel, dedescending all the way to the river, then along, and up the climb to bugsy, then acros the bridge and up the climb towards "beginning of the end", but instead of descending, head up for another lap of Kane and Abel etc.
Then on the last lap, come in through "beginning of the end" into the car park for the finishline.
Would give a nicely technical course, with plenty of climbs on wider trails to allow overtaking, plenty of room for spectators, plenty of locations for cameras, not too big an area to cover with camera/audio cabling, and a reasonable length of course.0 -
remember that even in the xc world cups at fort william a few years ago, they took 'nessie' out of the loop because the riders complained it was too technical...whereas loads of 'normal' riders love the feature!Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
Taking Coedy as an example (because I know the forest well)
They did a National race at CyB in 2007, it was a rubbish place to race! There's no decent, legal, feasible short loops (you're looking at 12-15 minute laps most likely) for a start, bear in mind you have to keep rights of way clear. There's also not the infrastructure to support the event. Not even close.
Also, you're never going to see riders more than once, watch that Beijing video again, it's a big clover-leaf design, with riders coming back on themselves repeatedly, you don't need as many cameras, not even close.
Again though, the big thing, as dictated by the IOC, is that it's the London Olympics, the country doesn't bid for the games, the city does, and that's key. Should the MTB course at the Atlanta Games have been held in Colorado?
Too many people are looking at this from the point of view of what's good to ride too, what rides well rarely races well!0 -
njee20 wrote:Too many people are looking at this from the point of view of what's good to ride too, what rides well rarely races well!
kirroughtree raced quite well lst weekend....
as did a 10 mile lap at fort william in may....Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
kirroughtree raced quite well lst weekend....
as did a 10 mile lap at fort william in may....
A 10 mile lap for an Olympic XC race? Yeah, that's just what the UCI recommend. :roll:
Kirroughtree doesn't have, nor can it support, the infrastructure, that's gonna be a common theme with a lot of places you suggest!
I really don't get why people are getting het up, the Olympics is not going to 'promote' UK riding, it never has been. It will be a much more exciting course to watch than a lap of the Tawr at CyB or whatever! At the end of the day, if you don't wanna go, then don't, makes it easier for me to get a ticket!0 -
Ok, i can see you're being an idiot on purpose, but might I reiterate what i said?Not a problem in most decent trail centres though.
Taking Coedy as an example (because I know the forest well)
I have no authority on how to form shorter loops on trail centres closer to London, since I don't frequent them.
As for 15 minute loops, (and again taking coedy as an example) what is wrong with badger's straight into "beginning of the end" then?
I don't understand why they have to be 15 minutes long. Seems kind of stupid in a sport called CROSS COUNTRY.
televising le Tour, or marathons, or the ironman is not a problem.0 -
njee20 wrote:kirroughtree raced quite well lst weekend....
as did a 10 mile lap at fort william in may....
A 10 mile lap for an Olympic XC race? Yeah, that's just what the UCI recommend. :roll:
Kirroughtree doens't have the infrastructure.
ah nice avoidance through snipping
....my point was that what rides well can in fact race well...as you contended did not...
would you say fort william doesn't have the infrastructure? and a uci approved 8.5km loop...
dalby?
surely places in wales?
and i reckon kirroughtree has ample space to put up an event village...same as will have to be done on this here farm, which currently has no infrastructure, other than being in or around london!
as said...the sailing aint in london is it.Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
also...you seem to be the most 'het up' person in the thread!
relax man...go ride!Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.
H.G. Wells.0 -
Right, there's two problems with this. First of all you're telling us it's for televisual appeal that they're creating crap, short circuits, now you're saying it's the UCI recommendation?njee20 wrote:A 10 mile lap for an Olympic XC race? Yeah, that's just what the UCI recommend. :roll:
this is quite apart from the fact that as you stated, it has next to no audience appeal, and very little TV interest.
Maybe the UCI/Olympic guidelines are a load of crap, and do not represent our sport properly? And maybe, just maybe, that's what the rest of us are GETTING at.0 -
....my point was that what rides well can in fact race well...as you contended did not...
No, what I said was what rides well doesn't necessarily race well. A 40 mile 100% singletrack ride would be a lot of fun, but rubbish to race on! When they did the NPS at CyB it fell well into that category sadly.
I just think people misunderstand what the aim is, it is not to provide an event which showcases the best riding in the UK. The WC at Fort Bill is smaller than the Olympics will be sadly.
Hadleigh Farm may need the infrastructure, but the roads around there are a fair bit better, it is also being built with that in mind. Unsurprisingly there's not a trail centre in the country which was built to UCI standards and with television cameras in mind.
Whether the UCI are right about what XC racing should be is something else altogether. Do any of you actually race, out of interest? I don't mean the odd SXC either, the scale's a little different and what works there simply wouldn't work for the Olympics.
Anyway, I CBA to keep this up you'll be glad to hear, it's going to turn into a petty slagging match!0 -
Yep, they gotta keep it nice and smoooooth...
It's in the contract with manufacturers of Carbon bikes.
Don't want "Joe Public" seeing broken frames now, do we?
What a joke! I used to ride round here when I lived in Witham/Marks Tey, Essex.
Lovely area, beautiful English countryside, but there's a huge quarry at Stanway they could have used instead.
Might go back to see it, but unsure as it'll be a great event, but NOT a great Sporting event...0 -
No, Idon't race XC. You know why?
cause the courses tend to be as boring as listening to paint dry
If there were interesting courses, and the sport wasn't just "roadies with knobblies", then I might watch and participate.
But, XC racing, and in particular the big world events and the olympics (the grass roots stuff can be fun) has absolutely zero in common with what mountain biking is for me, or the vast majority of mountain bikers who aren't "roadies with knobblies"0 -
Actually if you went back at looked at the news you would know it was up to the selection commitee which was led by Seb Co, and there was a statement saying they wanted to keep it all near to london for the influx trade.
in essence it was amoney decision not a spetacle decision.0 -
The clue really is in the name though, it's not the UK 2012 Olympics! Nor was it the China Games, Greece Games etc, see where I'm going!?No, Idon't race XC. You know why?
cause the courses tend to be as boring as listening to paint dry
But you like CyB? Racing at CyB was rather dull, there are far far far more interesting courses! Agree it's not an interesting sport to watch though. You should definitely come to the Olympics, you can tell Julian Absalon how to ride his bike, as he's just a roadie! Actually, you should show some of those roadies how to do it. Fabien Cancellara, what an mincing embarrassment he is to the sport!
I've just noticed I'm the only English person on this thread, that probably explains a lot!0 -
I've raced XC in Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, Isle of Man, South and North Wales,
Ridden all over most of the UK, most of the Canary/Greek islands.
The South East courses can be Technical, with hairpins, trees, roots, sandy/muddy sections,
BUT... They are NO COMPARISON to the rocks, slate, drop off and technical, steep and loose climbs/descents of the Welsh courses.
The FASTEST guys will do better in S.England, and the FITTER rider will do better in Wales...
if you see what I mean!0
