Yorkshire to host 2014 TDF start

[DCLane]

La Nuit du Tour - Thursday 17th January 2013 - anyone going?

The announcement of T'Tour de France Yorkshire route is on Thursday 6-7pm in Leeds.

I'm planning to be there, partly because several members of Ravensthorpe Cycling Club, which I'm now in, will be on the stage as part of the announcement and partly because my university's Velocampus has suggested we go to make up numbers.

 

[johnr]

Unfortunately, I'll be at work

 

[Steve H]

I might go depending on work commitments.

 

[davefb]

basic route announced..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/21056721

 

[Alien8]

Stage three - Monday, 7 July, 2014
Cambridge - Epping Forest - the Olympic Park - the Mall

Whilst I find this slightly ironic - Cambridge: big on cyclist numbers, poor on support of cyclists
I guess it might mean a pothole filling frenzy.

 

[musa]

I might do a reccee of the to-London leg ---- can imagine for it to be chocker block in London

 

[DCLane]

The Day 2 leg; a good chunk of it's my Saturday ride

 

[ColinJ]

We are discussing the actual routes of the 2 Yorkshire stages in this thread.

I don't know whether that should remain as a separate thread or be merged in here - MODS?

 

[ColinJ]

I got 'big air' on the descent of Fleet Moss towards Hawes, where the road abruptly ramps down at about 25%! I managed to stay on the bike but someone else was not so lucky and ended up in hospital ...

I just watched an episode of the BBC's 'Helicopter Heroes' in which the HeliMed crew were sent out to deal with an injured cyclist. I immediately recognised that the accident had happened at the steep part of the Fleet Moss descent mentioned above! The cyclist had some very painful injuries.

IF YOU EVER TACKLE THAT DESCENT - TAKE EXTREME CARE!

 

[I like Skol]

I just watched an episode of the BBC's 'Helicopter Heroes' in which the HeliMed crew were sent out to deal with an injured cyclist. I immediately recognised that the accident had happened at the steep part of the Fleet Moss descent mentioned above! The cyclist had some very painful injuries.

IF YOU EVER TACKLE THAT DESCENT - TAKE EXTREME CARE!

Where is this reputed 'dangerous' descent then?

 

[ColinJ]

Where is this reputed 'dangerous' descent then?

It is at the top of Fleet Moss, heading towards Hawes. The road leading to the problem is steep enough to get up a lot of speed very quickly and then after a short flatter section there is an abrupt increase of gradient which you can't see until it is too late. (Er, yes, there are signs at the top warning of the steepness of the road!)

I just did not see the problem coming and launched into the air over the lip of the road. I must have been 3 or 4 feet off the road and doing about 30 or 40 mph. I had long enough to feel the fear in the pit of my stomach about what was going to happen when I landed. Fortunately, I kept my weight far enough back not to land front wheel first, and my tyres did not explode.

As I mentioned above - the same day that I had my near miss, someone else ended up in hospital, and I have heard of other accidents on that descent, as well as the one in the TV show.

I'm sure that if you knew what you were doing and were on the right bike, you could probably do something spectacular in relative safety. The problem is that it is really deceptive and is a dangerous trap for the unwary.

Here it is in StreetView. You can't get a proper idea of the problem from that because the camera is so much higher above the road than a rider's head would be.

This profile should give you a clearer picture of the problem ...

 

[F70100]

Looks like the route planners have been reading this thread and are going from Buckden to Hawes via Aysgarth.

 

[Pale Rider]

I wonder if the route will be deemed to be closed for the use of tour riders/entourage, or closed for the use of cyclists.

Probably the former, but it might be relevant to me as I will be on the Brompton and might want to use a short stretch of the route to get to a vantage point.

 

[steveindenmark]

Hill dodger......Beryl Burton OBE, famous Leeds cyclist.

Colin " taking the pxss" in Yorkshire was better than taking it in Spain for Robert Millar. They didn't find testosterone in Yorkshire.

The worst thing about Yorkshire is that we named those furry, yappy, rats, Yorkshire Terriers. We have loads of whippets, they are far nicer.

Tdf starting in Yorkshire. Well there is the language barrier, the food and the hills to contend with, and that's just for the English riders. It sounds like fun.

But I certainly want the jersey.

Steve

 

[oldroadman]

Where is this reputed 'dangerous' descent then?

There are no "dangerous descents", only "technical descents". A few years ago the Giro was a good example. Descending at speed is a skill, and a good take-off spot on a technical descent can be seen in Belgium on the major classics routes, dropping off the berg just after the old Belvedere bar/restaurant, where the pave dips away then ramps up, the dips, instant take off. Still on pave. Always a good crowd at the cafe on the right just past the landing spot, I often wondered why, until the day came...smarts a bit when you land!