Olympic road race warmup this weekend

SLX01

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Some of the closures are a bit crazy though, local roads still closed 4 hours after the race went through :?

So you want cars on the route chasing along behind the peloton?

Have you ever been to a pro road race?

Yes thanks!

If people are that thick that they don't bother avoiding the closed roads in the first place then they are obviously not going to grasp the concept of not overtaking the last vehicle.
Where I was people even started cycling along the route including group of club riders before the last of the competitors had passed despite being shouted at by stewards and only stopped when the police bikes with the riders arrived. Most pro races use rolling road blocks not total road closures. People were clearly told how long the closure was for, clearly the priority is for the safety of competitors, staff and spectators and not to get people to the shops by car.

Simon Notley

So... who was actually there? I was on Box Hill and have to say it was a bit of a disappointment, the atmosphere was okay and the location was very pleasant, but the spectator area wasn't great for spectating. It wasn't overcrowded, but the shape of it meant only perhaps 10% of people got a decent view, everyone else was craning to see the riders in the distance or over the heads of five or six rows of people (pretty much impossible due to the road being lower than the spectators). Not sure why they chose to go up a hill with such limited spectator space - must have been weird for the riders, the centrepiece climb with absolutely no spectators other than in one small section.

I heard several people saying that they should have picked a route that could be simply lined by spectators, allowing everyone to be 'at the front' rather than bunching everyone up, and I would tend to agree.

flasher

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Some of the closures are a bit crazy though, local roads still closed 4 hours after the race went through :?

So you want cars on the route chasing along behind the peloton?

Have you ever been to a pro road race?

Yes thanks!

If people are that thick that they don't bother avoiding the closed roads in the first place then they are obviously not going to grasp the concept of not overtaking the last vehicle.
Where I was people even started cycling along the route including group of club riders before the last of the competitors had passed despite being shouted at by stewards and only stopped when the police bikes with the riders arrived. Most pro races use rolling road blocks not total road closures. People were clearly told how long the closure was for, clearly the priority is for the safety of competitors, staff and spectators and not to get people to the shops by car.

So therefore you know that keeping the roads closed for 4 hours after the race has gone through is clearly nonsense, not even the biggest road race in the world does that for a normal road stage, maybe the organisers could have got some French motorcycle Gendarmes following the race, they take no sh1t from anyone trying to follow too close!

gsk82

box hill is world famous (in the south east), it would be a travesty not to go up it at least 9 times

Eldred

I don't see what everyone is complaining about! Yes, I got to watch the race come straight past my drive and was stood on the wall cheering like a lunatic but surely what we should be doing isn't moaning. We are not yet a big cycling nation but there have been huge changes in public attitude and facilities since I first got interested in the sport back in 1985. Instead of only picking out what we think is bad we should be welcoming the race & praising what is good! (Oh, and I got a Team GB bottle too!)

G-Wiz

Watched it near Hampton court where the crowd was plenty thin enough and got some decent shots with no great fuss.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42554764@N ... 305338639/

Spotted Cav, Goss, Haussler and a couple of others, but only really when I got home and had a chance to upload them.

Good atmosphere, mostly locals who seemed happy to turn out and see what the fuss was all about. I'm sure the Olympic race will be far busier.

Was there some sort of media blackout to stop overcrowding? Literally not a single tweet from any of the mags I follow, no TV coverage and a single camera bike that seemed more interested in the crowd than the race.

I know it was a "test" race but if a field with some of that quality can't make more news than the traffic disruption it's pretty sad.

StefanP

I went, I didn't have tickets for the zigzag road, but I got to see the peloton three times, and all three times I had a great vantage point, at the Dorking Roundabout (with the cockerel), where the cyclists turned from the A24 on to the B2209, and then further down the road, just approaching Leatherhead. Then followed the route (still closed) to Hampton Court, one steward pulled me over to say that the race was still ongoing, obviously assuming anyone on a road bike MUST be racing. From photos, I think there were more people where I was than on Box Hill (maybe not quite)

Eldred

Let's also remember this was a "test" event designed in part to identify & eliminate any problems that arise. If you were at Box Hill & thought it could have been better get in touch with the organisers & make your voice heard. Positive feed back & constructive criticism will do far more good than simply complaining & doing nothing.

--Darren--

Was up Box Hill, did seem rather quiet, don't think the 3,500 claimed ticket holders were there

First time up the hill
[/url]

Second time

StefanP

Here are a "few" photos (140)

And some of the crowds where I was:


Cav going through:

SLX01

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Some of the closures are a bit crazy though, local roads still closed 4 hours after the race went through :?

So you want cars on the route chasing along behind the peloton?

Have you ever been to a pro road race?

Yes thanks!

If people are that thick that they don't bother avoiding the closed roads in the first place then they are obviously not going to grasp the concept of not overtaking the last vehicle.
Where I was people even started cycling along the route including group of club riders before the last of the competitors had passed despite being shouted at by stewards and only stopped when the police bikes with the riders arrived. Most pro races use rolling road blocks not total road closures. People were clearly told how long the closure was for, clearly the priority is for the safety of competitors, staff and spectators and not to get people to the shops by car.

So therefore you know that keeping the roads closed for 4 hours after the race has gone through is clearly nonsense, not even the biggest road race in the world does that for a normal road stage, maybe the organisers could have got some French motorcycle Gendarmes following the race, they take no sh1t from anyone trying to follow too close!

or maybe people could just a grip on reality?? How can roads still be closed 4 hours after the race at 12.44 when claimed as the race didn't even start until 9.00?? I don't think you will find the the TdF actually goes through many large cities except for the finish in Paris and I have never seen cars following the last riders on the Champs de elysee.

Le Commentateur

Simon Notley wrote:

...allowing everyone to be 'at the front' rather than bunching everyone up, and I would tend to agree.

Best way to achieve that is stay at home and watch the coverage on TV, which is what I'll be doing next year.

G-Wiz

Best way to achieve that is stay at home and watch the coverage on TV, which is what I'll be doing next year.

If there had been any today I'd agree.

Monty Dog

I was there as a test event helper and whilst the race itself ran well, there was a cock-up with security as they were not letting any accredited vehicles onto the course after the event. Seems that some security contractors were not properly briefed and were under the impression that no vehicles were allowed on the course until 2pm. This delayed the post event clear up and therefore getting traffic back onto the course.
Big problem was that many of the event team leaders had no bike event experience or even see a pro race before - IME much of the pre event briefing focused on non-essential information. Anyone who's been to LeTour knows that the Post-stage breakout is extremely quick and efficient.
Apparently every home within 100m of the course received event notification, but clearly plenty of scope to improve - some of the post event traffic chaos was inexcusable.

flasher

SLX01 wrote:

How can roads still be closed 4 hours after the race at 12.44 when claimed as the race didn't even start until 9.00??

1.44, you need to update your profile to GMT+1

SLX01

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

How can roads still be closed 4 hours after the race at 12.44 when claimed as the race didn't even start until 9.00??

1.44, you need to update your profile to GMT+1

Even so the roads used before 9.44 (4 hours prior) got used on the way back so they wouldn't be open until the return leg had passed.

Will.C

RCUK just posted this on twitter: "We'll have more on Mark Cavendish, GB's preparations for the worlds & whether the wristbands are staying for the Olympics on RCUK tomorrow."

As for the race, I enjoyed it, was at the top of boxhill, GF lives up there so access was easy. The atmosphere was...odd, everyone seemed to be on edge, nervous maybe? Like we weren't really allowed up there and were just a nuisance to the hundreds of marshalls, security guards, police etc etc. We managed to get a half decent spot just before the mini island in the road after the last hairpin, fairly quiet round there and we were right up close to the peloton. A lot less people there than I expected. All in all was good fun seeing my first pro race but just too many restrictions.

I wonder if the organisers were scratching their heads after pretty much no one used the bike lock up facility at the top of the hill, or maybe they assumed all cyclists were going to ride up before the 6:45am road closures.

Will.C

RCUK just posted this on twitter: "We'll have more on Mark Cavendish, GB's preparations for the worlds & whether the wristbands are staying for the Olympics on RCUK tomorrow."

As for the race, I enjoyed it, was at the top of boxhill, GF lives up there so access was easy. The atmosphere was...odd, everyone seemed to be on edge, nervous maybe? Like we weren't really allowed up there and were just a nuisance to the hundreds of marshalls, security guards, police etc etc. We managed to get a half decent spot just before the mini island in the road after the last hairpin, fairly quiet round there and we were right up close to the peloton. A lot less people there than I expected. All in all was good fun seeing my first pro race but just too many restrictions.

I wonder if the organisers were scratching their heads after pretty much no one used the bike lock up facility at the top of the hill, or maybe they assumed all cyclists were going to ride up before the 6:45am road closures.

jerry3571

I thought there was quite a few at Hampton Court and people all quite chirpy; good atmosphere.

Some Photos-

Christain House above



Main chasing Group behind



-Jerry

flasher

SLX01 wrote:

Flasher wrote:

SLX01 wrote:

How can roads still be closed 4 hours after the race at 12.44 when claimed as the race didn't even start until 9.00??

1.44, you need to update your profile to GMT+1

Even so the roads used before 9.44 (4 hours prior) got used on the way back so they wouldn't be open until the return leg had passed.

I'm starting to get bored with this but strangely not all the roads were used both ways, from Hampton Court (approx. 9.35am) it was basically a big loop. The only section that was used both ways was between The Mall and Richmond.

mikeyboy12345

SLX01 wrote:

If you have been up there and seen the the amount of metal fencing placed all over the hill I doubt very much has been done in the way of saving the wildlife its probably done more damage most of the fans would have done less damage just standing at the roadside.
I was very pleased to see the 3 people in their lovely 2012 prepares T shirts in the queue in front of me asking for receipts for their tea and cake up the hill today so they could claim it as expenses. I thought to myself at least my Council tax is not going to waste its paying for some overpaid idiot to stuff their face with cake whilst planning more ways to get the public even more annoyed off with the Olympics fiasco.

SLX, just so you know: the guys in the "London Prepares" t-shirts are unpaid volunteers who gave up their entire weekends to take verbal abuse from Joe Bloggs, and can't claim travelling or accomodation expenses, never mind cake! And taxation doesn't actually fund the cost of the Olympic events or the London Prepares events. The free-to-watch road race and time trials are paid for by the lucky few with tickets and those who bought cuddly mascot merchandise. Obviously not you.

Also, as far as TV coverage goes - AFAIK highlights only for all the test events. Reasonable enough - did you write to ITV bemoaning the lack of live coverage of the Halfords Tour Series?! The triathlon was the exception, because it wasn't staged by LOCOG. Feedback from tri volunteers said organisation was much worse than for LOCOG stuff like Hadleigh Farm, BTW. Methinks LOCOG are actually on the ball - the road race is a terrific logistical exercise and they've got to err on the side of caution. Obviously things will be tweaked for the real thing next year, and I know LOCOG are seriously working on ways to get much larger numbers of peeps on to Box Hill.

Atz

SLX01 wrote:

If people are that thick that they don't bother avoiding the closed roads in the first place then they are obviously not going to grasp the concept of not overtaking the last vehicle.

The closed roads carried on far too long, staffed by people with no grasp of reality. I parked in Epsom to get to Box Hill by train and live in Walton. Took me about 15 mins to get to the closed roads part of my trip home but that was as far as I could get. The route itself was open, just I couldn't actually get onto that road thanks to marshalls applying "the rules, mate" without any grasp of the situation. In the end my 20 min drive from Epsom took me 3-4 times as long but eventually I found a way through the maze of roadblocks. One even told me to "Try the M25 or the A3" when I asked for an alternative route. Couldn't tell me how to get to either and didn't seem to be aware that even if I did get onto one of these, I'd still not be able to get past the closures from that side.

Next time they really need to open roads at a reasonable time limit because if, like me, you live in the middle of the loop, you're not getting home or leaving home in your car.

Totally okay with closures, just think they need to manage them significantly better.

mikeyboy12345

I know some roads were open very quickly, yet others shut for hours. I'm presuming that the opening times were staggered in some way to avoid a free-for-all resulting in congestion a few miles up the road. Dunno.

I do know there was a lack of consistency with the stewards manning the actual road blocks - these guys were drafted in from (literally) all over the country at the last minute, and were working for different firms. It's not like it's one big stewarding organisation, and possibility a Chinese Whispers element might have set in. I think these guys have to be paid employees of Events/Security firms, rather than Olympic volunteers, because of needing to have had crow control experience.

iainf72

Ahh,h I see UK Sport made a real hash of the dope testing

redddraggon

So I went, watched the race near Hyde Park Corner tube station, literally caught the rear of the peloton as we legged up the station stairs.

Hung around that area until they came back, attempted some arty photography which failed badly, then went to the buses. It was pretty quiet around there, shocked that everyone else hadn't flocked there.

The Belgians left pretty soon after the race, but Boonen found the time to give me a camp two finger wave (Churchill impression?)

zoom gordo

the view from box hill:

http://zoom-gordo.blogspot.com/2011/08/ ... -hill.html

ianlash

I watched in the red wristband area on The Mall. This area ended about 90 metres from the line, so there were very few people actually at the line, which they need to think about again, because that won't look good for TV. Anyway, it was a good atmosphere, although not too busy.

TMR

gsk82 wrote:

box hill is world famous (in the south east), it would be a travesty not to go up it at least 9 times

I really don't know why, because as hills go it's pretty easy. Another hill nearby, Whitedown, is horrible by comparison

OffTheBackAdam

Has Corneytwat had a moan on this thread yet?
Bet the result made his day.

jerry3571

I think it's a shame that on a Cycling forum we are moanig about road closures for a single day of the year. In France, Begium and Holland they have local races where whole towns are closed for the day and make it in to a big event. Brits just moan and then riot. No culture, just a bunch of moaners. As an Austarlian once said; you can tell when a plane from the UK lands as when the engines turn off you can still hear the whining.

I must admit the stuards were bussed in from outer space without any knowledge of anything much. Maybe handing them detailed maps of the area might help and also where to park etc etc. Tricky getting around Kingston too. If they get that right then should be good!

As for people sat at home watching the TV instead of showing up and supporting UK cycling; there has been an invention called the VCR which has been popular since the early 1980's. After, DVD recorders and Sky+ also have added forms of recording ACTUAL live television events; technology holds no bounds. :shock:
Also if you don't turn up then the roads look empty and it looks really bad on the telly as with some of the stages we'll see during the Vuelta in the next few weeks.



-Jerry