Tour Of Britain

[Svendo]

Constitution Hill and other stuff here.

South west stages detail here.

Ah... Thanks Skip M.

 

[lukesdad]

Yes swansea is the one. Great for us.

 

[majorbloodnok]

The Norfolk stage will be a tester.....I'm going to situate myself on the mountain stage to get a good view of the riders. Thats providing the locals haven't nicked their wheels before they leave Kings Lynn

 

[montage]

bugger....2 weeks before I go to uni in lancaster - would have been in a good position to see that one if it goes over the trough of bowland as you say

 

[dudi]

I read in our local rag that they're riding down from Bury St Edmunds to Colchester, basically past my front door... I think I'll have to go see! What does one do about spectating on these things? never done it before... Do I pick a spot by the road and settle down for the afternoon?

 

[dudi]

When do they normally release a more detailed map of the routes? at the moment they're all terribly vague.

 

[Skip Madness]

What does one do about spectating on these things? never done it before... Do I pick a spot by the road and settle down for the afternoon?

Get to where you want to see it (uphill bits are the best because they don't whizz by so quickly). If you're driving, find somewhere nice and clear of the road to park and wait. This doesn't have to be in dedicated parking, up on a verge is fine, but try to keep the road as clear as possible, obviously. Road closures don't normally come into effect until around 10-20 minutes before the race comes through, but if you're at a busy section then you'll want to be there sooner to find a decent spot to park the car. We usually get there two to three hours in advance, but depending on how busy it is, where you can park or anything else to factor in you could leave it later. For example, if it's coming through the centre of town you oughtn't need to worry about transport, so it's up to you when you want to find a good spot, although remember that the crowds can be pretty big.

Then it's basically wait around. Approximately ten minutes before the race comes through, Anthony McCrossan will come along in a Tour car to tell everyone who's in the break, what the time gap is etc. Except for at the start/finish areas, the roads are immediately open upon the passing of the race.

As for more detailed routes, if you can't find anything online yet (strange how the south west stage details are already out but not some of the others) then usually in the month or so before the event you can expect a detailed pdf map to appear on the Tour of Britain website.

 

[Legs]

My big regret when I went to see the TdF at Goudhurst in 2007 was that I didn't take a stepladder or stool with me (and I'm 6'3')!

 

[johnr]

The national rail network kindly stopped the race at the crossing I went to last year so that I could take close up photos of the leaders. How do I go about making similar arrangements this year?

 

[Lardyboy]

Booked the day off work already for the Newtown to Swansea stage. Stood on Constitution Hill the last time it came to town. There's a bit of good news for the Pro's; the council have relaid a lot of the cobbles so it's a bit smoother!