Never said anything about the Commonwealth games. Point is about spending money where money is needed in the UK.

Never said anything about the Commonwealth games. Point is about spending money where money is needed in the UK.

What? Like in East London?

I doubt those who currently live in this area will be able to after the games. Especially when the new housing schemes and facilities have been put in. The cost of land/rent an overall living will rise therefore pricing out the lower paid in society but that doesn’t matter at least there will be a couple of lovely new standiums and facilities for the rich to play in. Both Sydney and Athens had issues with up keep of the smaller venues after their games I can’t help but think London will to.

I doubt it will make any money either in the long run.

As for the track it still looks like a field with some gravel in but at least it should be good for the TV as no one from the North could afford to get there!

If the spectator numbers were predicted to be low why bother putting it in London at all? O’wait it’s the London games funded by the rest of the country, I get it now.

A friend was once asked by an American girl, how far away is London from England? she wasn’t very bright but it did say something to me about the clear geographical divides we have.

Eh easy easy some of us up norf own land and we can afford to go to that Londinium town twice a year 8) The course is still shite what ever way you put it.

On the paying one – The whole of the UK including Scotland is paying for the London olympics, Scotland alone pays for the Glasgow commonwealth games.

The course is still shite what ever way you put it

Why do you think that?

On the paying one – The whole of the UK including Scotland is paying for the London olympics, Scotland alone pays for the Glasgow commonwealth games

The Olympics are a teensy bit bigger than the Commonwealth Games, though. As in they actually make the papers outside the UK.

Glasgow are hosting the Commonwealth Games? 😉

TandemJeremy – Member
On the paying one – The whole of the UK including Scotland is paying for the London olympics, Scotland alone pays for the Glasgow commonwealth games.

where does scotland get it’s money from? 😯

pastcaring – Member
…where does scotland get it’s money from?

We’re bleeding the English dry.

Contact your local MP and demand that Scotland goes independent now.

Please.

🙂

Since the people living in the east end live right next door to one of the richest parts of the world I doubt that a few sports facilities and transport links are really going to help them out in any way. Training, education, opportunities and culture/ethics probably have more to do with their situation.

Surely this topic would be a lot better if we were laughing at XCers coming up short on the gap jump and having a seatpost where the sun doesn’t shine.

Rather than a tedious Scotland vs England vs the North vs the South bore fest.

Training, education, opportunities and culture/ethics probably have more to do with their situation.

(trolling setting off)

yes, a far better use of 10 billion. imho

Surely this topic would be a lot better if we were laughing at XCers coming up short on the gap jump and having a seatpost where the sun doesn’t shine.

Probably as most people on here would not do the gaps or drops with 6 inches of travel and full face and body armour so if some skinny XC racer can do it with their saddle up their arse fair play to them.

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

And as a southerner why should I have to pay for the huge investment in biking facilities which have been built in the north of England and Scotland? I see the bottomless pit of investment which is Glentress has another £850k to build a cycle path to it’s trails, whilst the only FC trail centre in Kent has to have a whip round from it’s club members to get a few grand to get the trails ridable this year.

I know this is a separate argument to the Olympics, but with the HUGE investment in riding facilities in the parts of the country which already have the best facilities, why begrudge us in the SE the little investment we get. Especially when arguably we currently have the worst facilities?

Fed up with the northerner/Scottish chip on the shoulder about investment when broadly speaking the further away you get from London the more is spent per head of population.

Oh and for the parts of the world who don’t speak English as a first language it’s usually All Terrain Biking, NOT Mountain biking. Hence you can have XC races in places like the Netherlands without the pedants getting upset about the lack of mountains.

And now I’ve done something I said I was never going to do – get involved in a stupid argument on this forum!

pastcaring – Member
…where does scotland get it’s money from?

We’re bleeding the English dry.

Contact your local MP and demand that Scotland goes independent now.

Please.

Scotland’s North sea oil and gas??
And independence for Scotland would mean only one thing for England.Permanent Tory government,do the maths

FFS, some people are never happy!

I think it looks like a great course (nice report mboy) and for once there will be loads of proper techy bits and the cameras will actually be able to follow the race properly. Certainly looks as though it will be much better viewing than anything I’ve seen xc racing wise on tv.

Can’t wait to see it 🙂

Scotland’s North sea oil and gas??

where did the money come from to get it out of the ground?

.Permanent Tory government

new labour/tory i really don’t see much difference!

Exhibit A:

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

And probably more with all the other transport and other funding going in.

Quite a few sports centres, proper cycling facilities (aka Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands) could be paid for with that.

I am not really that interested in the North South divide just would like the UK to be a better place. The Olympics seems to be a big party/spending spree for London and the south east at the rest of the country’s expense.

Quite a few sports centres, proper cycling facilities (aka Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands) could be paid for with that.

True but they wouldn’t get built without the incentive of the Olympics, the money would just be wasted somewhere else.

Which is part of the reaosn why the MTB facility can’t just be stuck on a mountain somewhere, there’s the legacy issue to consider. OK, it’s not finalised yet for the MTB but the velodrome and many other facilities will stay and provide a sporting legacy for the future. Hopefully the same will happen for the MTB venue, it’ll stay as a facility for Youth/Junior riders in particular (maybe not in it’s current guise but as a venue nonetheless).

Look at what happened after Beijing – you couldn’t get near Manchester velodrome and many others were suddenly revitalised and other tracks and closed road cycle circuits are being built. The Olympic Effect works across all medal-winning sports which is why there is funding for it. Inspiration through excellence.

This is far far more than just “oh look at the field, isn’t it shite” rubbish that’s being spouted on here, the Olympics has far reaching potential right across cycling and all other sports – success means more facilites, more funding. You can’t just build a load more sports centres (or anything) without some kind of proof that they can work and be justified. Olympic success provides a massive part of that incentive.

the it has to be near London argument as that’s where the Games are is quite frankly rubbish. The sailing events are 126 miles away as the crow flies, remind me of one of the major features of east London.

UK pays for jolly for Manchurians

I’ve now got this image of an 1880’s Chinese gent riding away on a XC bike laughing with cash billowing out of his pockets. 🙂

Course looks like it may end up pretty exciting, I don’t really watch XC (or CX, or BMX for that matter) but it looks like it should create some good opportunities for risky/gutsy moves by riders which should make it pretty watchable.

I reckon the Inners British XC Champs course would be bloody tricky to ride on a CX bike.

That Olympics course looks like a bit of a giggle. Reminds me a little of the Australian worlds course. Should make for a good spectacle and good race.

The Olympic Effect works across all medal-winning sports which is why there is funding for it. Inspiration through excellence

Not so good for any sport which doesn’t have the fortune of being on Rogge’s favoured list though. All non-Olympic sports are currently having their government funding completely removed in order to provide more for those which are. I’m sure the athletes in those sports who no longer have any funding even to cover travel to world championships really appreciate the Olympic Effect.

Not all sports have an olympic venue local to London. Sailing for instance is in Weymouth (the big investment there has been in improving local transport infrastructure).

Personally I think they should have sent all the XC competitors down the M4 to south Wales, where they already had the Terrain, Infrastructure and knowledge to pull off a good XC event.

Ultimately I think it comes down to the IOC, LOC and UCI not really understanding mountain biking and still seeing it as a novelty side show. They’re more interested in some juicers belting round a wooden oval…

where did the money come from to get it out of the ground?

Private industry,certainly not the British Government,they just take the tax revenue.I ‘m sure some SNP-ite could give you chapter and verse.
And perhaps the English deserve a long spell of Tory rule….

Some people don’t read what’s in front of them and sound off on the same old bloody arguments every time don’t they.

Whether Wales would have been a better ‘riding’ venue or not is immaterial. The venue has to be able to accommodate 20,000 spectators getting there (up a single carriageway road up a valley?); visible from just about anywhere on the course for TV coverage reasons (so dense woodlands are out)…..and so on.

It is to an extent making the best of a bad job and I think they’ve made a bloody good best from it. It’s not going to be in Dalby, or Afan, end of.

English Private industry,certainly not the British Government

fify 😉

scotland doesn’t seem to do to bad out of the british government. free university, free prescriptions…

pastcaring – Member
…scotland doesn’t seem to do to bad out of the british government. free university, free prescriptions…

You can do something about it.

Write to your MP and ask for Scotland to be cut loose from the UK.

Please.

Then we’ll all be happy.

but we’ll still get your oil