This is similar to all the threads you see about Mountain Mayhem along the lines of “it’s not MTBing, it’s just riding round a field, why don’t they hold it at [insert random trail centre]”
This is not the MTBing that you do where you pitch up to a trail centre, push up the climbs, mince down some red, talk bollocks about how gnarr-core you all were, faff with suspension, then retire to the cafe to eat cake.
The venue has to accommodate 40,000 spectators plus the worlds media so it has to be near some good travel links. It has to look good on TV so great big long trail centre courses in forestry land are not an option. It has to comply with strict IOC and UCI guidelines with respect to course length, number and severity of technical sections, amount of climbing per lap, approx race distance in a set time, the requirement that it can’t turn into a mud bath at the first hint of rain and the fact that the course also has to be “sterile” for a year before the Games so you can’t go closing off an entire trail centre in Wales or Scotland or a section of the Surrey Hills. Can just imagine the complaints on here if that happened!
The ONLY option is to custom build it and the venue they’ve got is pretty much perfect. Close to London, good transport, nice natural arena, easy crowd control, good for TV, a fantastic course which is VERY testing and will produce a worthy winner and all completely controllable.
As an added bonus, there is a new legacy facility created for afterwards, a new venue that can be used for grass roots racing, maybe a skills centre, a youth cycling venue – it’ll need some modification afterwards cos frankly it’s too technical for most people (even the riding gods of the STW forum) but what’s not to like?!
How many people slagging it off have actually been there, have seen the racing that it can give? I have been there and watched the racing and it was a fantastic day out. The main complaint about XC racing is that it looks dull on TV or even in person. This didn’t. It was bloody great, action wherever you looked.