Great British Cycling festival Sportive.

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mr_cellophane

Legendary Member
Location
Essex
I thought it was an annual pro race, that the route was open to the public this year for the first time following the race.
 
OP
OP
Racing roadkill
I’ve just had an email from the organisers to tell me that it’s not going to be closed roads any more, and did I want to cancel.
 

skillster

New Member
Copied below 'from the horse's mouth'. Not happy! Was looking forward to a safe closed road route for my first 100 mile attempt. The Tour of Cambridge offered as an alternative (and run by the same bunch) is on the 2nd June and a bit challenging in terms of my training plan. Hoping I can get my accommodation refunded.


Dear Entrant

I am writing personally to you as an entrant to the 100 mile sportive to be held in Norfolk on the 30th June 2019. The team and I have been working tirelessly to deliver this event as a closed road sportive. As you might imagine there are many things that have to be done for the delivery of an event of this scale and the team have a lot of experience, having delivered the Tour of Cambs and other closed road events for several years. We have been doing a lot of work surveying the route and working with our Traffic Management and Safety consultants on the movement of traffic around the event. As we have moved to a high level of detail the number of people required to ensure that diversion routes and crossings were managed safely has grown exponentially. There are several other very high profile large events nationally the same weekend which means it has been impossible for us to recruit the volume of suitably qualified staff we need for full road closures over 100 miles for this weekend.

As a fellow cyclist it is with a heavy heart that I have had to make the decision not to run this event as a closed road sportive and change the format for this year. I wanted to share this decision with you at the earliest opportunity and offer you the following options :

Still join us on 30th June 2019

Still join us for the 100 mile open road sportive which will be held following the National Road Race Championships and will be organised to the highest standard. It will feature a closed road city centre start and finish in Norwich city centre together with a beautiful route. You will receive a partial refund. You will be able to see the Mens and Womans nationals start and ride the same course shortly after they leave. The entry fee for the open road sportive is £35.00 so we will refund the difference between what you have paid and this total.

Transfer your entry to ToC100

Change the event you take part in and transfer your entry to ToC100. ToC100 is a fully closed road sportive held over 100 miles and is held on Sunday 2nd June 2019 in Cambridgeshire. More details can be found at www.toc100.com.

Cancel your entry

Cancel your entry and receive a full refund for your entry fee.

Click on the link below to make your choice on the above. Please can you make your choice within the next 7 days.

I sincerely apologise for the disappointment that I know the above will cause and can assure you we have done everything within our power to avoid having to make this change. We will process your choice as quickly as possible but we have a large volume to get through and it may take up to 28 days. If you have any questions or queries, please email us at.....

Yours in Cycling,
Tom Caldwell
Event Organiser
 
I have decided to take the plunge and have entered to raise money for the Big C. This is a charity run by volunteers based at the Norfolk University Hospital.
Five days before christmas 2016 I took my wife to A&E, we were informed on christmas eve she had stage four cancer. The next eight months were spent
having surgery and chemo, then more chemo twelve months after. Through all this the Big C has been helpfull for for inumerable reasons so am riding to give a
little something back. Be good to hello on the day if we put our numbers on here?
 
Anybody still doing this? If so say hello if you see me, my number is 1419
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Anybody still doing this? If so say hello if you see me, my number is 1419
No, sorry, I'm over in Lynn helping http://www.klwnbug.co.uk/2019/06/20/gb-cycling-festival-comes-to-west-norfolk-25-30-jun/ and I don't think you come this far west.

What happens with the sportive being overtaken by the women's race? What I've heard (the rolling road closure interrupting the sportive, which seems risky as some pigheads might try to continue) is surprising but confused.
 
Womens race shoudn't really be to much of a problem as it doesn't start until 2.30. You would have to be very slow to be caught, if you are you will be asked to pull over and clap them past!
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Womens race shoudn't really be to much of a problem as it doesn't start until 2.30. You would have to be very slow to be caught, if you are you will be asked to pull over and clap them past!
Sportive start is 09.30-11.00. Women's race ETA is 17.50, which I think means late starters slower than about 12mph risks being caught by the front of the rolling closure? And this is a 100 miler on open roads with loads of draggy chipseal, plus the coast ridge may surprise anyone expecting Norfolk to be flat, so I wouldn't say that's "very slow" for some.
 
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