Who else thinks the UK can handle a one day race now?

[Armchair cyclist]

The answer to the OP seems to be Boris Johnson.

Who has presumably been bending Pat McQuaid's ear this week.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

Going to be 1.1 on its first edition. Money talks eh?

 

[LugHugger]

Going to be 1.1 on its first edition. Money talks eh?

Seems so. The initial course description is very vague. Let's hope that it's not too much like the Olympic course and they use all of the Downs escarpment from west to east or vice versa. I seriously hope that they drop the endless circuit idea but the picture of tens of thousands watching a 1.1 London criterium will make the UCI/promoters salivate like crazy. Shame that there's nobody with the balls to stand up and design a great course.

 

[CobbleStoner]

where did those brits find balls big enough to call their race a Classic before it has ever been raced?
I sure hope it doesn't get 1.1, that needs to be earned, especially now days when pro tour teams have to show up to stay in the pro tour, stupid and bad for cycling.
just retire Pat

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Going to be 1.1 on its first edition. Money talks eh?

1.1 is nothing; half the new races seem to be 1.wt nowadays.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

where did those brits find balls big enough to call their race a Classic before it has ever been raced?
I sure hope it doesn't get 1.1, that needs to be earned, especially now days when pro tour teams have to show up to stay in the pro tour, stupid and bad for cycling.
just retire Pat

With the exception of the Clasica San Sebastián, a general rule of thumb is that if the race has the name "Classic" in the title, it isn't one.

 

[Skibby the bush kangaroo]

1.1 is the lowest level at which Protour teams would even be allowed to compete - it's equivalent to 1.4 in old (pre 2005) parlance.

The UK already has a 1.2 race - the Rutland-Melton Classic.

 

[The Cobra]

Some good news for UK cycling. Really hope its a challenging route that will give an exciting race.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

With the exception of the Clasica San Sebastián, a general rule of thumb is that if the race has the name "Classic" in the title, it isn't one.

More worthy of comment on that post was the misunderstanding of the term 1.1

 

[Libertine Seguros]

More worthy of comment on that post was the misunderstanding of the term 1.1

A fair point.

.1 is probably right for this projected race. WT teams there, but enables them to pad the field out with ProConti and Conti teams if they can't fill it out with all the WT guys, and allows the British domestic teams to participate, and help set the race apart with some local flavour.

 

[BroDeal]

With the exception of the Clasica San Sebastián, a general rule of thumb is that if the race has the name "Classic" in the title, it isn't one.

I don't think Sebastion is an exception.

Cannot wait for the Limey Classic. 220kms, dead flat, designed for Chavendish, with a special rule disallowing Kazakhs.

 

[CobbleStoner]

More worthy of comment on that post was the misunderstanding of the term 1.1

my mistake, thanks for clearing that up

 

[Thee_chisa]

The Leeds/Brighton/Rochester classic died a death in the mid 90s and the world cup race went to Hamburg instead, mostly because nobody cared. But the crowds yesterday were unlike anything I've ever seen in a bike race before, and given the wave of cycling euphoria now I think the UK could handle a single day race every year.

it wasn't that "nobody cared" it was because ulrich won the tour and interest in cycing in germany peaked. they paid handsomely for the UCI to switch the classic from the UK to germany. if you ever watch a video of the leeds classic you will see big crowds.

as for having it in london - understandable but what a crap idea. busy roads will be closed which will have taxi drivers, etc moaning and hating cycling even more. the terrain in the south of england is the most bland cycling country anywhere. it is expensive to hold it in london - but the mayor's office is footing some of the bill i believe.
if it is in london it won't last long. the olympic RR was boring, and so will this be. if they want a real world standard race they need to look at reviving the leeds classic. open country, difficult climbs, knowledgeable fans, enthusiasm, etc. not found in london or the south.

 

[Thee_chisa]

That's the profile of the 2005 Leeds-Sheffield stage. At 150km or so it's not long enough to be a classic, but add a run-in either as a Sheffield-Leeds-Sheffield, or going to Leeds from York or Manchester, and maybe a circuit or two at the end to make the final climbs a bit further from the finish (plus the finishing circuit would inevitably be bumpy).

There, you've got an interesting parcours, a few climbs but solid classics men will still be there at the finish (that stage was won by Luca Paolini, but Russell Downing was 3rd and a very young Geraint Thomas made the top 10). Extend it out with those options to 200-210km and you're linking big cities that mean you should be able to attract a pretty good crowd.

The minus side of course is that it decreases the likelihood of the popular home winner, which the prospective organisers of a British major one day race may cling to in order to establish itself with the British public (as opposed to the establishing itself with the cycling community - after all, one of the main ways to generate prestige is to make the fans AND the riders care about it).

i was there that day and the peloton were soft-pedalling nearly all the way. except for a few attacks on the snake pass. i wouldn't expect to see classics riders at the finish for that if they raced properly. ideal for someone like samu sanchez or valverde.

 

[RownhamHill]

The question is not about whether people would go if they organised it now. It is pretty clear that they would. It's about would they go in five, ten, fifteen years' time? After all, we know and the organisers know that they can't rely on crowds like the Olympics even in the best intentions with the best organised event with the best possible field. The Olympics bring something else entirely.

This is indeed the great unknown question, but personally I'm optimistic on this front. As far as being a 'spectator' nation the UK is pretty good at this generally - if you think about events like the London Marathon or the Great North Run, the university boat race, or even an event like Wimbledon - there's quite a tradition of people in the UK turning out for an event simply because it's an 'event', not because they have any deep or lasting enthusiasm for the particular sport. The best example in this context might be the Tour de France prologue in 2007, at a time when, pre Cav, pre Wiggins, pre Team GB, interest in cycling was fairly non-existent, yet the event was rammed.

Of course, this event might not gain that kind of traction, but given the existing climate towards cycling, now is just about the perfect time to try and establish something that could become a decent race with decent crowds, and then go onto become the kind of 'event' (it's free, it's at a good time of year for a day out in the countryside, you turn up, have a couple of beers, cheer at the cyclists, watch the finish on a big screen, what's not to love for a spectator?) Which surely would be a good thing for the whole sport of cycling generally? Who knows if this will ever happen, but as I say I'm optimistic.

 

[User Guide]

That's the profile of the 2005 Leeds-Sheffield stage. At 150km or so it's not long enough to be a classic, but add a run-in either as a Sheffield-Leeds-Sheffield, or going to Leeds from York or Manchester, and maybe a circuit or two at the end to make the final climbs a bit further from the finish (plus the finishing circuit would inevitably be bumpy).

There, you've got an interesting parcours, a few climbs but solid classics men will still be there at the finish (that stage was won by Luca Paolini, but Russell Downing was 3rd and a very young Geraint Thomas made the top 10). Extend it out with those options to 200-210km and you're linking big cities that mean you should be able to attract a pretty good crowd.

The minus side of course is that it decreases the likelihood of the popular home winner, which the prospective organisers of a British major one day race may cling to in order to establish itself with the British public (as opposed to the establishing itself with the cycling community - after all, one of the main ways to generate prestige is to make the fans AND the riders care about it).

Theres more "classic" type climbs around area of the oxenhope climb than anywhere ive ever been including cobbled climbs that would have anything in flanders pulling up its skirt and running check out shibden wall or thwaites brow
Must be 20 probably even more 2km @ 10% with serious ramps(20%+) within 5 miles of Hebden Bridge

 

[MartinGT]

Some really good suggestions in here

I think though once the euphoria of Wiggo winning Le Tour and the Olympics has died down and we (cyclists) will go back as second rate citizens and to close a large amount of roads off would be seen as sacrilege.

 

[MartinGT]

Theres more "classic" type climbs around area of the oxenhope climb than anywhere ive ever been including cobbled climbs that would have anything in flanders pulling up its skirt and running check out shibden wall or thwaites brow
Must be 20 probably even more 2km @ 10% with serious ramps(20%+) within 5 miles of Hebden Bridge

Mytholm Steeps too!

 

[User Guide]

Mytholm Steeps too!

Doghouse lane turn left at sourhall n do second(harder half) of sharneyford moor over deerplay moor then through Shore from Cornholme down through Tod THEN up mytholm steeps then.......... the.....Lollol

 

[El Pistolero]

With a name like that no big classic star will want that on his palmares.