Spectating

Secteur

Hi all.

I want to go and watch my first ever road race - the Blackpool stage of the Tour of Britain.

I know the last 20km of the route very well, so I know all the good slow corners etc. However, I'd prefer to see Cav (if he races) sprint for victory on the promenade.

Does anyone have any advice of how best to go about it?

Is it better to be at the finish (where it'll no doubt be packed) and risk not getting a good spot, or be on an anonymous & deserted country road where we might get a close up & slowish view of the peloton?

Also, the missus lives about a mile from the finish, so would be convenient to park there and walk down - plus can have a nice hot dinner there too!

If we go to the finish, will it be packed? How early should we get there?

Any other tips?

Pross

You'll need to get there early for a finish line spot and even then you may struggle to get near the line itself as they tend to have stands for invited guests. Are there any hills on that stage as that is really the best place to watch - 2 to 3 hours of standing at the finish line to watch them shoot past in a couple of seconds can be very frustrating (but if you haven't seen a top flight sprint finish before it is worth experiencing!).

Secteur

On the section we'd go to, it's all flat, but it is quite bendy with lots of tight corners, so I reckon I could get a good spot 20km before the line where there'd be no barriers, plenty of parking and few people.

I just feel like I'd rather see a bunch sprint finish though.

There's no way we could do the former and then dash to the line for the latter as all the roads would be closed and time would be tight!

How near to the line do you reasonably think we could get if we got there 3 hours early - is the Tour of England very popular?

avoidingmyphd

If you go to a flat bendy bit, you might end up just learning that they ride flat bendy bits much much faster than you anticipated - certainly too quick to appreciate individual riders. Also 20km from the end, you will probably fail to spot the sprinters - they will be hiding from the wind and, as a consequence, you.

the peloton will only be travelling "slowish" with individual riders easily visible if it's going up hill. you know the area - are there any unclassified but noticeable hills which will slow things down? english roads tend to have them.

anyway, it's pretty obvious you'd rather go to the finish. so go to the finish! get there early - waaay to early if you like - and eat some fish n chips etc. whilst you decide where to stand, watch the crowd assemble etc.

gsk82

apart from from the last 100m or so you should be able to get near/ against the railings. unless there's a massive hill they will be past you in the time it takes to turn you head anyway.

Dorset_Boy

I've been to the finishes in Yeovil & Glastonbury the last 2 years. Got there no more than 2 hours before the finish and ended up virtually on the line both times. Yeovil was a sprint won by Ben Swift, and Glastonbury was a breakaway win.

There's usually some entertainment in the finish straight - Yeovil had kids from local primary schools racing as teams up and down the straight which was fun!

I'd guess Blackpool will be busier, so get there 2/3 hours before and get your spot!

Enjoy it!

verylonglegs

The ToB requires about an hour beforehand to get your spot, the TdF about 5-6hours, in my experience anyway. It's hard to gauge the real interest in the ToB because it's held when everyone is back at work after summer hols, must be a massive factor in crowd numbers.

Pross

I watched the TdF stage in Portsmouth in 94. Watched the start and hung around for the finish at the same point. Minali months sprint (I wanted Abdu to win) but all I saw was a bright flash of colour! Since that I have tried to watch races only on climbs as you can pick out individual riders.

RichN95.

Pross wrote:

I watched the TdF stage in Portsmouth in 94. Watched the start and hung around for the finish at the same point. Minali months sprint (I wanted Abdu to win) but all I saw was a bright flash of colour! Since that I have tried to watch races only on climbs as you can pick out individual riders.

I was there too. I wasn't too bothered in seeing the finish in a racing contest, just to see them speed past - I saw who won on the big screen. For me it was about seeing the riders, particularly Indurain*, LeMond, Boardman, Armstrong (yes, Armstrong, get over it) at the start and finish. I think the best place to see the Tour is at a stage start.

*I saw Indurain that day just walking to his trailer. I have never, before or since, seen a man who looked more like a mythical Greek god. He almost looked like a different species.

thegibdog

I think I'm going to head up to the last KOM point at Bank Farm for stage 2, as mentioned above it's generally better to catch them going up hill (even if it's only a Cat 3). You could always spectate there and then dash to Blackpool for the finish!

Really wherever you watch they will be past in the blink of an eye. I've been on Gun Hill and Hollinsclough Moor the last two years and the pro's don't really hang about up those kind of hills anyway. It's a good atmosphere on the hills, although wherever you watch there's generally going to be a few people gathered and the race announcers will stop and tell you the situation of the race.

Always good if you can pick out some of the big name riders - Wiggo last year, Cavendish a few years back in a breakaway and I've managed to get photos of Boonen in his World Champs jersey and Ryan Cox in his South African champs jersey.

Pross

I'd agree with Rich. The start is the place to be, don't know what it is like now but it used to be really easy to get access to the top riders who are usually happy to chat and sign programmes.

Secteur

OK, next question - is there a resource somewhere (lik with the TdF) that gives estimated arrival times for various points throughout the race, as I have no idea what time they will get to the finish, if we decide to go there.

JohnnyAllez

ToB website has downloadable maps, and also estimated passing times at various places round each stage.

Secteur

Brilliant - have got the race manual with all times etc. Thanks again! Think we'll try for the finish!

morstar

I did both the start and finish at Blackpool in consecutive years in 08 and 09 I think.

As mentioned, starts are better as the riders will chat and hang around a bit while waiting to go. That's irrelevant though as it's a finish this year.
Assuming the finish is where it usually is opposite Sancastle, there is a kink in the road at about 300 metres to go. This means the view from the finish is literally just 200 metres of road, which get covered extremely quickly.
When I went, the finish line was packed with schoolkids so I went prior to the kink and got the only video footage of a mass pile up. The TV cameras never caught it. It is on youtube somewhere (may post a link later).

There should be plenty of stands and most likely trick displays so it is worth a visit to sample the atmosphere.

Pross

Be careful with race schedules - it's not unusual for the race to go faster (or slower but that's less of an issue).

Cleat Eastwood

I saw cav win an intermediate sprint in southport, cycled up from home and they were about 10 mins ahead of time, what with a big tailwind.

Also if you spectate from selected vantage point a car comes through ahead of the race telling you who is in front and who to look for and you often get a goody's car handing out freebies, but it is just a blur to be honest, at least at the finish the peloton slow down a tad so you can see the riders proper. I'm off to blackpool meself cos I wanna see Jens.