We’ve just heard from the PR folks in Essex. The final plans were approved by the Secretary of State this week and work has now begun on the course. Despite the lack of elevation (or any particularly testing terrain) we’ve spoken to people who’ve visited and reckon that it has great potential and certainly has a great setting. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with it. With work starting now, hopefully we’ll get a preview later this year…
Here’s the press release:
“Work has begun to create the Olympic Mountain Bike Event course at The Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Farm, in the Borough of Castle Point. Against a stunning backdrop of Hadleigh Castle and the Thames Estuary, the course is being created in harmony with the natural contours of the park land, to test the mettle of the world’s best mountain bike riders. More information is available at essexlegacy.org”
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Good god, that looks like an awful place to race a bike. Maybe they could helicopter in Mam Tor?
what a crock of shit!!
I agree it doesn’t much elevation to play with however this is my local ride and I can confirm that there are some short, sharp sections that could be made challenging given sufficient thought and planning. This course will be all about keeping momentum as high as possible and trying not to lose speed in the corners.
2012 – the year cyclocross replaced mountain biking as an olympic sport
Will the course use all the area inside the orange fencing or just the bit where the diggers are?
Any news on whether they’ll even be leaving the course for use after the event? This is still the latest on the 2012 website…
“The temporary structures will be taken down. We will work closely with our partners including Essex County Council and the Salvation Army to explore what course will be left in place for future use.”
It would be shocking if all the expense of creating something even half decent were to be wasted long term!
Dr_Bakes, based on the latest public consultation the bit on Sali Army land will remain however the section through the castle will be just for the Olympics……….could all change though!
Maybe the digger is part of the course in a Kick-start stylee, add a bit of height at least.
Do we get brass band music at various points around the course as well?
You work with what you have, and this is one case where infrastructure may justifiably be a more significant consideration ! I have my name down to volunteer. Reckon they could make it interesting by either building some hills or going the othere way and digging a great big MF hole !
Sorry to disagree, but that looks a bit too gnarly for me…. some of those drop-off are higher than kerbs!?! I hope none of the riders get hurt… could give the sport a bad name…
Do they need volunteers for digging the course ?
I mean volunteers for staff at the event, marhals etc. There is a form on the Olympics website I think.
Looks fine to me. It’s meant to be an xc course, not a mountain endurance event.
Yippeee….it seems cyclo cross is on the olympic program after all…
Not 100% sure what the obsession is with elevation. Anyone who’s raced the Thetford Winter series knows how tough a flat but tight course can be. This is XC racing not DH afteral!
Don’t we already have numerous MTB specific trails in the UK, that would have provided a much more challenging and possibly better spectacle, without the associated cost of a new build?
or am I missing something?
They’re not in Essex. If it were the UK Olympics, or the Manchester ones, then we could have hoped for the course to be somewhere more fun. As it’s the London Olympics, they’re keeping things near London.
Any suggestions of having the course somewhere more rugged (for example, the sailing will be down near Weymouth) have fallen on deaf ears. So, Essex it is. I’m sure they’ll be making it the best that they can.
In response, one may refer to my original comment . . .
Why does it have to be in Essex? the sailing venue last time round was 400 miles away from the other stuff.
Looks more promising as a golf course