Last weekend was the Olympic
cycling road race, which came pretty close to our flat. The
men's race was on Saturday. The race took more than 5 hours, so we watched a good bit of it on television before we walked 45 minutes over to
Thames Ditton. On the television coverage, it was very easy to find riders from the different teams.
The walk was pleasant and a local was kind enough to tell us about a spot to watch that was not too crowded. While waiting the 20 minutes for the race to arrive, we chatted with some very friendly people and were even offered
canapes. And then in a flash of about two or three seconds, the lead group appeared and disappeared. I only saw a Spanish rider near the front because the uniform was so distinctive. Then a few minutes later in a much longer flash of maybe five seconds the
peloton flashed past. I managed to see three Team GB riders because they were together and that was about it. I didn't manage to spot any of the Portuguese or American riders. It just went by too fast. After that, we stopped at the
George and Dragon on the way back to watch the end of the race.
I am glad I had the experience of seeing an Olympic event… especially for free. (As you know, I am a lover of all things free.) And I would never had experienced the hospitality of Thames Ditton if we hadn't gone. But if the aim is to see anything in a cycling road race, TV coverage is probably the way to go.
Last weekend was the Olympic cycling road race, which came pretty close to our flat. The men's race was on Saturday. The race took more than 5 hours, so we watched a good bit of it on television before we walked 45 minutes over to Thames Ditton. On the television coverage, it was very easy to find riders from the different teams.
The walk was pleasant and a local was kind enough to tell us about a spot to watch that was not too crowded. While waiting the 20 minutes for the race to arrive, we chatted with some very friendly people and were even offered canapes. And then in a flash of about two or three seconds, the lead group appeared and disappeared. I only saw a Spanish rider near the front because the uniform was so distinctive. Then a few minutes later in a much longer flash of maybe five seconds the peloton flashed past. I managed to see three Team GB riders because they were together and that was about it. I didn't manage to spot any of the Portuguese or American riders. It just went by too fast. After that, we stopped at the George and Dragon on the way back to watch the end of the race.
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