2011-08-14 London - Surrey Cycle Classic

Anyone going along to watch this?

London-Surrey Cycle Classic - 14 August 2011

As London and the rest of the UK prepares for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012, a series of test events will take place from summer to 2011 to May 2012.

The London-Surrey Cycle Classic test event is taking place on Sunday 14 August 2011 and will pass through Surrey's boroughs along the route. This will be your opportunity to get a taste of London 2012 a year early and watch world class athletes compete on your local roads, plus it's free to watch.

Schedule

Below is a list of times you can expect the race to pass through locations in Surrey.

Start and Finish

The Mall, London - Start 9am Finish 12.10pm
Race schedule in Surrey

Walton-on-Thames – 9.45am
Ripley Village – 10.05am
Gomshall – 10.25am
Westcott – 10.30am
Dorking – 10.35am
Box Hill – between 10.40am and 11.20am
Esher – 11.35am
Click here to view full schedule including times within London, please note times are subject to change.

Road closures

In order to deliver this exciting event, road closures will take place along the route within London and Surrey. Arrangements will be made to minimise disruption for local residents and businesses

Cavendish will ride for the GB Cycling Team along with four other GB athletes. Also provisionally on the start list are Matthew Goss (AUS), who won the 2011 Milan-San Remo Classic, and former Olympic gold medallist Stuart O'Grady (AUS). 2005 World Champion Tom Boonen is leading a strong Belgian team while Norway are focussing on the event with Edvald Boasson Hagen, winner of two stages of this year's Tour de France, lining up on the 14th.
The 1.2 graded race, which is 140km long, is being hailed as one of the most exciting and high profile of the London 2012 test events, passing through six London boroughs, four Royal Parks and a looped route around Box Hill in Surrey.

A chance for a forum meet up perhaps? Somewhere on the Box Hill circuit would be ideal as you'd get to see the race more than once. I've a feeling the zig zag section requires tickets though.

how is this going to work?
Mulitple off and on road routes up boxhill.. thousands of cycling fans.. no chance.

Box Hill declared limited access for Olympic RR
Thursday, 14 July 2011 Andy McGrath 8 Comments

After missing out on the vast majority of track cycling tickets, prepare to be short-changed at the Olympic road race: you'll need to wear a wristband to get anywhere near the best bits.
The London-Surrey Cycle Classic (August 14), the test event for the 2012 Olympic road race, provides a taste of the restrictions imposed on would-be spectators on two key parts of the route.

According to LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games), restrictions will be imposed at the race's start and finish on the Mall and the Zig Zag Road at Box Hill, the jewel in the crown of the Surrey circuit.

There are to be fences and barriers on the restricted part of the climb, with security enforcing the area. The Mall and Box Hill will have capacities of 3,500 and 3,400 respectively.
The restrictions stem from Box Hill's status as a protected SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). A new species of butterfly was recently discovered, meaning there will be one restricted area, according to LOCOG spokesperson Emma Pickles.

The protection of orchids has also been cited, by Natural England, the government's adviser on the natural environment, as a reason for the limitation.

Yet it has emerged that LOCOG failed to contact these interested parties before planning the route. Surrey County Council indicated that it was only involved late in the process.
Wristbands only

Cycling Weekly understands that the wristbands required to access key parts of the course will be made available through application to local councils and British Cycling - as well as from British cycling magazines.
"We wanted to make sure that people from the cycling community will be able to attend," Pickles said. Spectator areas on Box Hill for non-wristband holders will be limited.
LOCOG offered Cycling Weekly 450 wristbands for the test event to distribute to readers.
We declined the offer on the grounds that the access restrictions will leave too many fans disappointed.

Considering the abundance of similar climbs in the area, we asked LOCOG: why choose Box Hill, given its known status as an SSSI and the subsequent likely restrictions on access?
Pickles replied "It's a really good technical aspect and great visually from a broadcast point of view. It [the restricted area] is only a small area of Box Hill; Box Hill is huge," Pickles said.
See the July 14 issue of Cycling Weekly (out today) for more on this story.

Bottom of Box Hill is ticket only and many went to people in Surrey, restrictions on anywhere else slightly exciting http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/Box_Hill_Viewing_Map.pdf

Hasn't all this been covered before?

A24 roundabout near Leatherhead maybe?

im going for a walk up boxhill.. whose with me

http://roadcyclinguk.com/blogs/comment-london-2012-organisers-miss-golden-opportunity-by-restricting-box-hill-access.html

i'm marshalling on the 14th august
don't know where,
don't know when,
but i know i'll see you
some sunny day..

http://www.londonpreparesseries.com/roadcycling

okay.. i know how the system works.
How much is this going to cost me?

*

• i'm marshalling on the 14th august
  don't know where,
  don't know when,
  but i know i'll see you
  some sunny day..
  
  

I'll probably just watch it from Sawyer's Hill in RP. Dressed as Satan.

How did you land the marshalling gig?

Any chance they still need marshalls for 2012? Might be my only chance to take to take part, since I didn't get any fecking tickets in the raffle.

I'll probably just watch it from Sawyer's Hill in RP. Dressed as Satan.

How did you land the marshalling gig?

Any chance they still need marshalls for 2012? Might be my only chance to take to take part, since I didn't get any fecking tickets in the raffle.

i applied for a role as 'field of play official' through the LOCOG Gamemaker programme earlier in the year. after a lengthy application submission then a 30 minute interview at the excel centre. if selected we are then invited to a series of test events for the sport we have interest in. this is all preparation for the olympic and paralympic games in 2012.

In answer to your question the deadline has past, but it may still be worth a try. good luck
http://www.london2012.com/get-involved/volunteer/games-maker-roles-and-venues/

PS check the route for next week.. sawyers hill on the return leg only i think, but RP would be a popular spot.
I am destined for somewhere between RP and the Mall.

cheers

bloody shame, looks like Sunday 14th will be hunting for a decent vantage point with no ticket somewhere in London along the route - though watched all over the world, pro riders , key stage in the road race (could be breakaway point) and only handful of spectators watching due to as expected feck-up by the organisers...hey but all good if the helicopter gets the good shots with the sponsors logo's in!! #wankers

you are better off finding a bar close to the route, watch it on telly, then for the twenty secs or so, see them fly past.. if the roads around the course are destined for rolling closures you should have okay access.. don't be hung up over securing a spot for hours.. as a marshal we don't have any kind of freedom. between RP and the Mall you will see them out and back.

yeah we're thinking by the cinema on Fulham road - good spot, pub near so we can do the dash and also good bike parking - but the test will be the 14th, whether we can even get near that bit of road.

I'm opting for Hampton Court, well, East Molesey Moseley officially. Just opposite HC station is a little High Street with plenty of cafés and a couple of pubs. There's quite a big roundabout they'll have to use on the way out which will be a good position. Coffees and shoot the breeze for a couple of hours and catch 'em on the way back or time enough to nip into town and catch 'em there.

might see if the cinema wants to do a screening showing it live then we can rush out watch it go past head back in, go for the old 'well you'll make a some money this way' line..will let folks know how I get on

or do what a mate has planned, btw the route goes past his house nr guildford..
marquee in the front garden, bbq, beer, telly and a load of friends.
start drinking at 9.00am pissed by 2.00pm

@twist.. i have no idea how the road race is set between RP and the Mall..
i can only assume barriers, some crossing points for marshalls, security, blue light services, first aid, and some tv camera positions.

for security reasons we will not be informed until sat 13th and then not permitted to discuss publicly.
there is a lot that can go wrong. as FOP officials our primary concern is for the riders

I hope it goes well and without incident, like last weekend at hadleigh farm mountain bike event.
mind you we only had 5,000 spectators.. sunday 14th could see upto 2 million on the route.

btw if anyone turns up on my patch in a dede or mankini outfit, i'll radio for dogs/security to have you ejected from the area :)

Boxhill is still a go for me.

but the top of Darkshill in richmond park on the way back is tastey little climb in the final few km
might head for there once I get a banning order from national trust land.

"btw if anyone turns up on my patch in a dede or mankini outfit, i'll radio for dogs/security to have you ejected from the area :)"

wonders if he can get away with his 'condom' jacket as his wife so loving puts it!

*no that's not me - before I end up as a meme or a hipster riding a lama round Hoxton Sq :)

assos climajet jackets are fine, just not this please

the top of Darkshill in richmond park on the way back is tastey little climb in the final few km

Looking at the map they're not going up Dark Hill. From Kingston Gate they appear to go straight on to Richmond Gate, then right back to Roehampton Gate.

But, Richmond does seem to be a good bet for viewing. On the outward leg they exit Richmond Park sharp left to go down the steep Star & Garter hill only to meet a sharp right hander about two-thirds down. They'll have to scrub all their speed to turn into Petersham Road so I wouldn't be surprised to see an off or two if it bunches up.

Plenty of space along Petersham Road and even some elevated positions as they approach the top of Richmond Bridge where there's a sharp left to cross the river. Enjoy a coffee in Richmond and walk back up the hill to the Park where there's miles of roadside to catch them on the return leg.

The Roebuck's a nice place to stop afterwards, the famous view down to the river and Ham common. Or go back down to the town and left onto the riverside where there's loads of pubs.

I'm planning on getting the train to Leatherhead station then trying to get myself along a verge on the lesser restricted part of the Box Hill loop.

My commute to work is along a section of the route and there are a few nasty potholes. I really hope some of these are filled before the event.