Olympic Obstacle Course?

I heard last week that Surrey residents have expressed concern about the state of the course for the 2012 Olympic road race, specifically the Box Hill loop.

Regular riders there will know that a whole menu of horrors exists: sunken drains, protruding drain covers, missing stopcock covers, sharp-edged gullies (not all at the road edge), potholes of every size (some eroded right down through the stone substrate), sections of extreme coarseness, backbreaking hillocks and pits, loose gravel etc…

The top section at the village was resurfaced a year or so ago but, typically, generally made conditions worse as the council merely rolled tarmac over all the existing imperfections, making them more pronounced.

Admittedly, there are roads that are a lot worse but I’m told that the residents were concerned at the impression the riders would have of the UK.

These will be almost all pros or semi pros that make their livelihood from the sport, so their health and welfare is not a small issue.

Reputedly, the Olympic people have expressed general satisfaction with the course, and the council have promised to “patch” severe imperfections.

Maybe the riders should be advised to do some preparatory work on the Belgian pavẽ!

I cycle along some of the route every day near Walton on Thames the road in parts are OK but not perfect. If it rains in the 24hrs leading up to the race the road floods on both sides of the road due to blocked drains so if there is a large group of riders some of them will be riding through water a couple of inches (50mm) deep.