Olympics MTB Course Video

[bigdawg]

i did speak to the course designers about why they werent using a lot of the natural terrain that can make a brilliant course and they were told they couldnt use it as it was under tree cover - they were told to design it to make it camera and specatator friendly.

Dont forget the people that have ridden it (many of them journalists who wanted not to like it because of where it was) have all rated it as an excellent course...

 

[The Ken]

With modern fly by wire cameras, crane cameras and a bit of bush trimming any forest can be made camera friendly without much effort. Crowds have always enjoyed forest events and an open park start/finish line with grandstands should easily cover those who don't.

I'm sure the course is tough enough but it doesn't look overly technical, and the few features although nice aren't enough. If it rains and the track gets chewed up it will be a mud bath I guess, that could make things interesting. Do you get rain that far south?

 

[bigdawg]

not very often...

I appreciate the course location isnt to everyones liking but really still not understanding everyones hate for the place when its somewhere theyve prob never ridden - like me saying dalby must be a load of rubbish as parts of it are manmade and its in the north..

 

[Drencrom]

I don't think anyone has a problem with it being in Essex, if that's your point. The issue is that the terrain is not what we would expect of something as grandiose as the Olympics. Slap a mountain or two in Essex and there wouldn't be an issue.

Have a read of the offcial site: http://www.london2012.com/hadleigh-farm

Hadleigh Farm in Essex was chosen because it fulfills requirements as a technically challenging course.

Hadleigh Farm is owned by the Salvation Army. The venue covers a 550-acre site including beautiful grassland and woodland. It also includes the surrounding countryside of Hadleigh Castle Country Park.

The terrain is hilly with open grass land covered by low shrubbery. The site offers some fantastic gradients for mountain biking – with an escalation of 70 metres from bottom to top – and great viewing opportunities for spectators. The course is set against the backdrop of the 700-year-old ruins of Hadleigh Castle.

My initial reaction was that it's odd that sports such as sailing will be held in places like Weymouth - no doubt due to it's suitability over areas closer to London, yet mountain biking won't be held in an area that could, in all fairness, act as a showcase for the sport in this country. I don't buy the idea that it can't be televised easily, and that 70m is enough elevation. It's a cop-out in my opinion.

 

[bigdawg]

As Ive said all along there could be a much better course designed just using the natural sourroundings (and with a damn site more than 70m elevation), but they werent aloud to use it. I have ridden the course (or most of the bits that are in that video - theres more to it that wasnt used on that day - and comparing it to some courses Ive ridden (that used to be and are on the national UK circuit) I tihnk its a very good course, albeit open.

There arent mountains in essex but then there probably arent mountains in prob 99% of the UK, but Id quite happily take anyone over there for a ride round and youll find hills that are long and extremely difficult to climb, but xc racing is not just about going up and down hills. There are some courses in the UK that have less than 20m of elevation in a lap.

 

[Tallpaul]

epic fail london.

You remember the course from Beijing, right? That only had 55m of elevation per lap compared to 70m for London. The course is 5.1km, Beijing was 4.6km.

There are IOC requirements for start/finish and tech areas, plus the design of London means less cameras will be required for the same coverage compared to Beijing.

The course is built to IOC spec and approved by the UCI. I think London will deliver exactly what the IOC wants from the event. That may not be what the public wants, but that isn't London (or any other hosts) fault.

 

[MikeD]

The Dalby Forest World Cup course only has about 70m elevation to play with and that doesn't seem to get many complaints.

 

[Drencrom]

The course is built to IOC spec and approved by the UCI. I think London will deliver exactly what the IOC wants from the event. That may not be what the public wants, but that isn't London (or any other hosts) fault.

Very true, but then that's the rub. It was a chance for the organising committee to show a bit of imagination and leave a lasting legacy.

 

[Tallpaul]

Very true, but then that's the rub. It was a chance for the organising committee to show a bit of imagination and leave a lasting legacy.

Are they afforded the freedom to do that?

 

[Drencrom]

It's one of the main reasons why London bid for the event:

http://www.london2012.com/legacy-after-the-games

The Games will leave a key legacy of national benefits in culture, sport, volunteering, business and tourism.

I was hoping it wasn't just wishful thinking.

As an aside, I wonder where the organisers for Paris 2012 would have earmarked for mountain biking.