Photo Look at Road Race Championship Course

VeloUK visits the course for the British Road Racing Championships on the eve of the big races.

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Tomorrow at 9am sees the first of two races to decide who will wear the British champion’s colours in road races for the rest of 2012 and into 2013. Today at Ampleforth, the weather has been quite nice, blowy yes, cool perhaps but drier than it was the previous day and if its like this on Sunday, I and most others will be pleased.

The most exciting bit of the course is the switch backs to get out of the college grounds … awesome.

The course for the championships is tough. I never looked at the big loop for the men but the smaller circuit used for all of the Women’s race and the end of the men’s race is on narrow, up and down roads with one long climb that isn’t steep but hard enough for one rider to hurt another going full gas. And if the wind blows, while there are hedges along the roads, it will no doubt still get in amongst the wheels.

There is also a lot of descending but if the gaps opened up on the ascents are big enough, that shouldn’t make a difference when riders commit to ride…

The finish is quite stunning. Reminds me of Celtic Manor without the big climb with the narrow lane through the grounds. The riders come on on roads the width of a car, a fast run in until the final four or five hundred metres which drag up to the finish, again on very narrow roads. If there’s a bunch kick, it will be interesting! I’ll let the pictures tell the story …

As it says on the sign… 250 to go … could be some cyclo-cross if a big group!

Corrine Hall, Jo Tindley, Nicola Juniper and one other do a lap of the course prior to their race tomorrow night.

The finish line opposite the judges booth… uphill.

Typical roads for the course, narrow, some broken up a bit and hedges to keep the wind out a bit.

Sky bus is in nice and early

A look down from the finish line at the roads the race will come in on. Lovely setting for a bike race. Would be better if the men’s was all on the small circuit. Going to get bored waiting for them on the early laps!

 

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