Tour of Britain 2023

[Salvatore]

Anyone else think that having MattC involved is rapidly becoming the only interesting thing about this Tour?

The GC is interesting, but only as an oddity. After 4 flat (therefore sprint) stages, with no bonus seconds for stage placings, the first 80 (eighty) places on GC all have the same time.
And it's unlikely to be significantly different until Sunday.

Edit: actually it's only 56 riders who are equal first on time.

[JonBuoy]

Anyone else think that having MattC involved is rapidly becoming the only interesting thing about this Tour?

Edit (thanks, Nuncio)  MattH, not MattC!

In the absence of MattC there was the slightly mis-timed live sheep sculpture in the form of a penny farthing with 6.7k to go 

I originally planned to cycle from home to Newark to watch the finish but decided that I didn't fancy all day out in 25+degC so plotted a MTB route from Long Bennington that took in a couple of VV tiles that I needed.  Some decent tracks including the ones worryingly close to Beckingham Danger Area    At one point I was on the cyclepath alongside the A616 going against the flow of the cyclists heading for Newark town centre - there were loads of them.
Just before I got back to Long Bennington the team buses, official cars and NEG motorcyclists started passing me - no doubt on their way to the A1 en route to Felixstowe.

[MattH]

Bizarrely whilst we are right in the thick of it (lost count of the number of times I've left Wout unable to keep up with me this week - my tenuous claim to fame), it's hard to keep track of what is really happening. I know when there is a break and what the gap is, but even once you've worked through the peloton and are now ready to be overtaking them,  you don't really clock who it is. You're looking in mirrors to see what's happening behind, looking at the position of the racers and the camera bike to avoid getting into shot, looking how the road changes ahead for if it is safe and what your optimum line will be too avoid affecting them and/or hitting road furniture, watching for the team cars moving around, checking if the regulator has any specific instructions for the overtake (which side), or if he wants you to hang back, if they are riders coming up from behind to join the break (in which case they get priority on road space), if there are any other bikes trying to get through etc. The last thing you do is check the race numbers...

I generally don't know what actually happened until I see it on TV!

[Peter]

OK, Matt, I can help you there: 

(click to show/hide)

what happens is that the finish is flat, Wout leads out and Kooij wins - every time

[Jaded]

Looking forward to the finish on Saturday 

[yoav]

Can anyone who has been to a stage start or finish tell me if there is a stand selling replica Tour of Britain jerseys (leader, KOM, points etc)?

Thanks.

[gibbo]

ToB has just come through Hadleigh which included a sprint. I positioned myself midpoint of the sprint leg hoping to see them come screaming through. Wasn't even contested by either the breakaway of three riders nor the peleton. Slightly dissappointed tbh.

[Peter]

(click to show/hide)

At last!

[Flite]

Seems JV are not making the race boring?

[Peter]

Yes, that was some stunt!

Could have a jersey for stunts, intermediate stunts, etc.  Might rejuvenate Peter Sagan, or even Jens Voigt!

[Flite]

That finish was hilarious.
Need an award for the most audacious plan.

[MattH]

At last a time gap!

In wowbagger country tomorrow. Let's see if it starts to get interesting.

[Wowbagger]

I was standing at Gravel Corner here although someone had had the good sense to sweep up the gravel. I took some videos, and the coming and going of the police motorcyclists, and others (I had to google NEG) looked very chaotic, and there seemed to be a lot of private cars using the road very close to the riders coming through, some drivers seemingly oblivious to the fact that a major bike race was coming through.

I took some videos which are on my iphone. I will try to extract them at some stage and provide them for amusement value. There was a guy standing beside me who had a lot of choice words to say about his view of ride safety.

So far as the race was concerned, there was a breakaway group of three, going like the clappers, a solitary guy who was twiddling, presumably waiting for the peloton to catch him up, and then the peloton, who were travelling more slowly than I expected.

[MattH]

Full road closure is quite close to the race, as to do any more would require massive resources and cause a lot of inconvenience to other road users. It's not a TDF style shut down the route for the day, it's a rolling closure. The few cars that are on the road as the race approaches get dealt with by the police bikes close to the race.  It's tough to enforce, as anyone could pop out of a driveway and you can't physically cover every one of them.

The bikes may seem chaotic, but there are multiple teams and roles within both both police and NEG. Everyone has their allocated task, so for example some will be stopping at every junction to block traffic joining, and waiting for the next junction bike to arrive to push them on. Others are looking for hazards (e.g central islands, that are plotted in advance for the entire route, or dynamic hazards like the occasional errant parked or stopped car) and warning the racers. So they will be riding past the junction bikes, trying to get ahead with enough time to deal with any issues.

The knack is

[Nuncio]

...responsible for My Sharona?

[MattH]

  yeah, typing on a phone and editing it isn't something I have the knack for.

[Jaded]

Can anyone who has been to a stage start or finish tell me if there is a stand selling replica Tour of Britain jerseys (leader, KOM, points etc)?

Thanks.

At Gloucester I saw team stuff and blue branded ToB stuff. Forgot to look for the specialist jerseys!

[Jaded]

At the finish, looking at all the familiar roads on the big screen

[Hot Flatus]

Just watched them hammering up through Avening.

Rode home.

Beer.

Now going to walk up to the common and watch them again

[rafletcher]

It's not a TDF style shut down the route for the day, it's a rolling closure. The few cars that are on the road as the race approaches get dealt with by the police bikes close to the race.  It's tough to enforce, as anyone could pop out of a driveway and you can't physically cover every one of them.

Many moons ago, when it was still, I think, the Milk Race, I recall Phil Anderson nearly being T-boned by an elderly driver who completely ignored the Police bike and officer blocking his exit and drov out onto the course as the peloton passed.

[Jaded]

There was a power cut at the finish.    Seems to be resolved now 

[Hot Flatus]

I held my pint out by the Bell in Selsley, but nobody took it.  Got a few grins though

[MattH]

Didn't see it - could have done with it!

(click to show/hide)

Well, that seemed to be quite interesting at last, at least from what I could see!

[Jaded]

Yes, quite a lot of last few kms hunting down going on.

[Jaded]