Cyclists Not Welcome At This Spanish World Cup

UCI actually support ‘normal people’ cycling as a mode of transport ?

You’re having a larf. Worse than British Cycling for that. They’re only interested in things they can milk more CHF  to put in Swiss vaults alongside the gold stolen in the 1940s

You could at least include the date for the event in the story!

I’ve only been to Beni the once, and it’s a really weird place – the whole of the centre of the town is 100% dedicated to tourism, there was absolutely nothing for locals. Add in that most the shops and bars had signs in English, and it’s just a surreal experience when you come from one of the other Spanish coastal towns. Still, met my mate who’s a genuine Spanish local, and he took us to a bar which was selling two pints for 3€, so couldn’t complain 🙂

 Bit of a non story really.

I’ve not been to many Pro level CX races on the Continent but I’ve been to a few and spectator’s bikes have never been allowed inside the venue. There’s tens of thousands of people crammed into a small area and it gets *busy*, to the point of anxiety inducing crush in some places, adding people wheeling bikes around would make it very messy, even it it was just getting them to a bike parking area. It wouldn’t be a viable, or safe, proposition.

I can’t remember seeing any dedicated bike parking outside any of the venues either, people just lock their bikes up to whatever’s available and because it’s the Continent it’s usually a Dutch style town bike they use for just getting around on and not some $$$$ fancy pants toy so they’re totally okay with that. I think maybe there was one event that commandeered a fanced off tarmac sports area that you could pile bikes in that happened to be close to the entrance but there was no security there, for the above reason.

A reminder that the majority of people turning up at a CX race on the Continent aren’t Cyclists (with a capital C) and it’s a spectator sport like football is here and most are there for the beer, frittes and to be entertained by the race monkeys, and then go mad in the rave tent at the end.

I don’t remember the world cup race in Milton Keynes having big cycle parks? (But I drove there so wasn’t looking for it.)

TBH it’s a bit of a non-story. Most people are not going to turn up by bike because the audience who live within cycling distance is probably small. And if you have ever been to bike events and had your achilles and shins mashed by muppets walking about pushing bikes in crowds, well, you have your answer. Bikes were always banned inside the halls at the annual bike shows in brum too, when I worked there.

The Dutch F1 was a bit of an unusual thing, where the entirety of the country has a bike already and access by car was banned, but also access by car is already awful to that location.

I disagree about it being a non-story as it is highlighting the ridiculousness of the UCI event organisation.

I certainly wasn’t aware about not having any bikes on site.

^^^ this.
I’ve been to a lot, spectating (via car, coach and bike) and racing (Supporting events!!!).
The *VAST* majority have no dedicated bike parking space for the event, some will have a load of fences in a sort of open pen near the entrance with space for a couple of hundred city bikes to be locked and left. Some are left there permanently (Ride there, get so drunk you don’t know your own name, walk home, forget where the bike is).
Those which are based around existing facilities or close to town centres, people will just leave their bikes in the “normal” bike parking. Most facilities in the low countries will have an order of magnitude more parking than your average UK sports centre.

So, not only are more and more events actively trying to get people to cycle to them for both traffic congestion and environmental reasons but the fact that the bike industry can’t organise parking for the product that it, checks notes, relies on selling, is the proverbial failure to organise a piss up in a brewery.

To be fair, previously I don’t think I’ve been to spectate at a race without cycling at least a leg of the way – Tour, cobbled classic and cyclocross. I’m livid.

1/2 way through and it’s been a hell of a race! Totally epic.

Someone got a nice souvenir in the shape of some rather expensive glasses!

That was mental. We were spectating on the course so we didn’t see what happened to M VdP though… it was already quite a race then suddenly everything changed.

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/results/cyclo-cross-world-cup-benidorm-wout-van-aert-ends-mathieu-van-der-poels-incredible-run

Brilliant race – looked like a stupid-fast course!

The women’s race was great too. Very close for the whole race without the usual suspect blowing everyone away. (Non spoiler)

It was quite frankly ridiculous wasn’t it. Such power! He overtook 6 top pros in 15s of power. Wow

Someone got a nice souvenir in the shape of some rather expensive glasses!

When Wout slipped? That was his saddle flying off after he kung-fu kicked it clean off the seatpost, Van Damme style.