Am i just underestimating the strength of a light weight XC bike. In which case why do I bother riding a 28 pounds bike??

[quote]Their wheels are light but they have the skill to not break them[/quote]

They also only have to make them last for one race, whereas we’d like to get a few years out of a set at least 🙂

You are underestimating the strength though, they’re not that fragile, particularly under very skilled 65kg riders!

Pit stops are allowed in elite races, and are utilised fairly regularly for wheel changes in the event of a flat, you’re not allowed to change bike, and (I believe)you have to do the changing, not allowed other people to intervene. That’s even at national or regional level, but only in elite; expert, masters etc have to lump it if they puncture at a BC sanctioned event.

So do you get fitter from constant say (50m up 50m down)x10 more so than 500m up and then 500m down at the same pace?

Different kind of fitness. You’d be training different energy pathways and putting your muscles under different conditions.

The bigger issue is that people can’t sustain that same pace for the full 500m. You’re effectively comparing an interval session to just riding hard, where one’s form tends to tail off.

the only downside i have with this course is where it is, east of london. Would i go, for this reason probably not, access is just to complicated.

I think it should have been west of london as that enables more access from population who don’t live in the london and the southeast.

This talk of wales and scotland, pointless, a good race to watch needs overtaking, which means a course that allows it, which this should do. Listen to all the piston heads on here whinging about F1 being a procession, and then wanting a race course that would create exactly that.

The majority of the LOCOG sites were chosen to highlight areas to enable further inward investment, and the mtb site allows easy access from the Olympic Village rather than shlepping across town.

West of London would have been massively more useful after the games though to the rest of the country, but I agree the area hardly needs more regeneration.

Mrmo, there’s a 40-50 minute rail link from 2 of londons larger stations that takes you to within a mile of the course, so anyone going by train from a distance would see no difference than if it was in west london. Knowing the area, going by car would be tough as there isn’t much parking around there. It’s about 40 minutes from the M25 though. I’ll probably ride there if I’m lucky enough to get tickets, would want to see the policy on taking bikes into the venue though.

As far as the sport of “Mountain Biking” being a majority composite of mincing, leisurely paced, opinionated bloaters – I would agree. But then sports are represeneted by the majority aren’t they? Or is it just an elite few?

That might* be the UK style of biking, but the Olympics is international – and most of the riding (round here at any rate) is XC. I’ve no idea what the international numbers are, of course – but then I doubt anyone does.

Rather than complaining about the XC course I’d be campaigning to get DH / 4X / whatever into the Olympics.

* It’s quite possible the majority of UK biking is actually towpath / Sustrans riding, nothing to do with either XC racing or gnarcore STW style riding.

OP question was ? Olympic Mountain Bike Course – Discuss
The only answer required is ….. It looks shite because it is shite.

In a country city with an abundance of easily accessible mountains it is a travesty having that course.

London having so many mountains… It isn’t the UK Olympics.

Looks more techy than most XC courses and well done on the report mboy!

Who is paying for the Olympics.. Just going to google it.

I like the look of the switchbacks cut into what is essentially a sloping field.

It it were a trail centre it would be a bit shite, but it’s not a trail centre it a race course.

That section gives a good overview for the telly, stick a camera on a gantry and you’ll be able to cover a large area of the course in a single shot getting an excellent overview of the race situation and It’s got room for thousands of spectators, who come race day will be making a lot of noise.

I reckon it will be pretty good.

Actually I’d love to see motorised cameras on overhead cables able to follow riders as the go up the climb.

Whos Paying

Ok. Looks like its the UK rather than London paying for it.. Please stop any further comments saying its London’s Olympics..

Contributors

Central government – £5.975bn
National Lottery – £2.175bn
Greater London Authority – £925m
London Development Agency – £250m
Total – £9.325bn

Whether it reflects what the average forumite sees as mtbing is irrelevant. If the Olympics reflected the typical sporting activities typical of wider society you’d see wife-beating, bottle fighting or mixed (bottle/ glass/pool cue/ fighting) disciplines replacing boxing and martial arts, and various configurations of wheezing, impotent 45 year old men stumbling after a ball on a bit of astroturf for an hour followed by a few watered-down lagers.

I reckon that as an Olympic xc race course it looks like it will do the job (with all the constraints applied to this kind of event) pretty well. Whether having an Olympic xc race course is of any great concern is another matter, as is the value of the Olympics themselves.

London Olympics mean it’s centred on London.

Get used to it.

Please stop any further comments saying its London’s Olympics..

No, because it is the London Olympics.

For Atlanta 1996 Colorado would’ve been a better venue for the XC race, but it wasn’t the USA Olympics. I doubt the state of Georgia paid for the Olympics in full though.

I’m sure Lord Coe will be very interested in your points. You should write to him, expressing why the sport with the lowest predicted spectator figures (I worked on the transport supporting the Olympics, 0.5% of spectators across the Games are expected at the XC), should actually be held hundreds of miles from the host city, to please a load of people who know nothing about XC racing. 🙄

In fact, the Alps would’ve been better, why not just go there? Could do a flat TT course around Amsterday too, and I’m sure there’s a decent arena for weightlifting in Spain.

I am not making a comment about the XC course. Who cares where it is. Not my money anyway.

Just in general if the UK is paying the Olympics why should London get all the Glory/investment/contracts. The comments of “shut it is the London Olympics so there” seem a bit of a rubbish argument/bullying??

Just in general if the UK is paying the Olympics why should London get all the Glory/investment/contracts.

Cos it’s meant to be a local festival of sport, where all the events are close together. Otherwise why bother?

I’m sure Manchester, Birmingham etc were free to make a bid, and they’d have had UK support if they’d won.

Just in general if the UK is paying the Olympics why should London get all the Glory/investment/contracts. The comments of “shut it is the London Olympics so there” seem a bit of a rubbish argument/bullying??

Jesus 🙄

Countries cannot and have never been able to bid to be hosts Olympic Games. The bid was for a London games, not Birmingham, Not Edinburgh, end of. Get used to it. How it is funded is up to the powers that be, but staging an Olympic Games is considered valuable to the country the host city is in. No city could fund a games by itself these days.

Most of the Olympic sites are being built in areas to provide a lasting legacy to the population around that area.

The UK is paying for it so why can’t I be annoyed. The benefit of the Olympics was meant to be for the whole country. Almost all of the contracts and benefit has gone to the South East which is the last place in the UK that needs extra money. Even if there are pockets of poverty the Olympics will not make much difference to them anyway.

The UK is a very small country.

The UK is a very small country.

In which case the Olympics in the SE will surely benefit all of it?
You can’t complain that it’s all in the SE then say it’s a very small country, that’s a self-defeating point. If it’s that small then it’s easy for everyone to get down there and watch/support it.

❓

Which bit of London winning the bid are you having a problem with exactly?

manchester commonwealth games! was it only manchester that payed for that? 🙄

:yawn:

GEDA you are welcome to your opinion, its wrong tho, its been discussed by people with far more influence than you and the conclusions have already been reached

dont let that stop you from arguing that the rest of history is wrong tho, but dont be surprised if people just walk away from you shaking their heads.

GEDA – stop stirring the flatlanders. They’ve made a mountain out of a molehill, let them enjoy it.
😆

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1021275_mps_angry_over_london_bias

http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/News/General/London-Olympics-will-cost-Manchester-dear_388.asp

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/uk/protests-brewing-over-olympic-bias-towards-the-south/5006733.article

http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8609

I am sure the London Olympics will be great, but the rest of the UK that actually paid for it, will lose out while London which hardly needed anymore money poured into it will yet again reap and is reaping most of the benefits.

I’ve been looking at the new Olympic course with a sense of Deja Vue, I knew I’d seen it somewhere before, and Bam!!! – I remembered:-

Deja Vue

GEDA

To be fair, this thread is neither the time nor the place to be arguing the validity of who is paying for the Olympics… 4 or 5 years ago maybe, getting your local MP to lobby against the then Government!

As it is, you’re wasting your breath… The OP started this thread to discuss the merits of the course. Being one of very few that have ridden it, I can tell you that as an XC race course and venue, it should do the job well. It has also come in under budget, and they completed it on time, so hats off to all involved in making it happen!

Moaning about the location is about as pointless as asking “what tyres for” on this forum… The decisions were made loooooong ago, but what I can tell you is that working with what they had, the course builders have done a pretty respectable job. It’s tough, it makes you think a lot, you can’t relax at all on it, and in no way does it reward your efforts. Pretty much the opposite of our favourite trail centres, but perhaps exactly what an Olympic XC course should be?

MPs are London centric, waste of time. Sorry I stand corrected. Tony Blair supported Newcastle while he was PM, he must have been a Geordie in disguise.

Least I can have a moan on here. Nobody seems to have really told me why the rest of the UK should pay for London’s Olympics.

mboy – how come you were allowed to ride it? I’d be keen to give it a go (not at any pace, just for sh*ts and giggles) – guess its out of the question?

GEDA – Member
MPs are London centric, waste of time. Sorry I stand corrected. Tony Blair supported Newcastle while he was PM, he must have been a Geordie in disguise.

Least I can have a moan on here. Nobody seems to have really told me why the rest of the UK should pay for London’s Olympics.

pastcaring – Member
manchester commonwealth games! was it only manchester that payed for that?

imo the whole thing is a complete waste of money, but thats another thread…

Least I can have a moan on here.

Do you really need to do that to make yourself feel better?

Nobody seems to have really told me why the rest of the UK should pay for London’s Olympics.

And I doubt there’s no real answer that would explain it suitably! But if we’re on the subject of what our taxes get used for, I don’t have any Children, so why the hell should my money go towards funding state education? I rent, so why the hell should I contribute towards Social Housing development?

Arguments all wasted on deaf ears… So no point in even mentioning them, cos nothing is going to change!

mboy – how come you were allowed to ride it? I’d be keen to give it a go (not at any pace, just for sh*ts and giggles) – guess its out of the question?

This and this should answer your first question… As for the second one, it’s very much out of bounds to the general public at the moment, and is likely to stay that way until after the Olympics, and even then its future is still uncertain.

You pay for other peoples children as they are going to pay for your pension. You pay for social housing as a more equal society is probably happier, more stable and more prosperous. Not quite the same is it? UK pays for jolly for the rich Cockneys.

rich cockneys? You’ve never seen Stratford have you?

Not sure if GEDA is deliberately being obtuse or genuinely believes what they’re saying.

If nothing else, he/she is keeping this thread animated.

Perhaps the Olympics are like the Royal Family: they both seem madly expensive to run, but overall bring more money/investment into the country than the UK spends on them.

UK pays for jolly for the rich Cockneys.

UK pays for jolly for Manchurians

you seem to be ignoring the fact that the hole country payed for the common wealth games?

, but overall bring more money/investment into the country than the UK spends on them.

i thought most of the olympic games run at a loss?

and if the government hadn’t spent the money on the olympics, they would of spent it on expenses!

Yeah, there are NO deprived or poor areas in London. No siree, not at all.

Streets are paved with gold.