Prices announced for Box Hill Olympic road race tickets

[siadwell]

Olympic organisers LOCOG have today confirmed that they will charge for tickets to both Box Hill for the Olympic Games road races on July 28 and 29 and at Hampton Court for the time trials on August 1.
Tickets for the Donkey Green area of Box Hill will be available for £15 for adults and £5 for young people and seniors and those for the 'Dormouse Drive' area will be £10 for adults and £5 for young people and seniors.
LOCOG have also announced that two viewing areas for the time trial will be ticketed, priced at £15 or £5 for area 'A' and £10 and £5 for area 'B.'
All tickets will be available for purchase through the official ticketing website from May 29.
"LOCOG has confirmed that new tickets will go on sale from 29 May 2012, which will help more people get to the Games," said an official press release.

More at
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/532710/locog-to-charge-for-box-hill-and-time-trials.html

 

[Boris Bajic]

Weird.... This must be the new way to get the young into sport.

Some years ago I took my elder son on a mad car sprint to North Kent where we drove, parked, ran and parked again further up the road to watch the TdF between london and Canterbury. It all got a bit hectic and the only 'proper' view we got was on the run to the finish.

But it cost little (just petrol) and was a laugh. Selling tickets to a road race seems eccentric to me.

I was rather hoping this year to spend the night before with friends in barnes and get a peep as the riders whizzed on their way out of town.

Will that be possible and if so, do we have to be drinking the appropriate sponsor's brew and smoking the appropriate sponsor's ciggies?

Victor Meldrew has left the building.... Sorry about that muted outburst.

 

[raindog]

To be fair, it's difficult to see how else they could do it. Every fan would want to go to see the riders at Box Hill, because that's simply the best place to view, so imagine if 200,000 spectators turn up all at the same time for a viewing area where, say, there's only room for 20,000 - it'd be chaos.

 

[martint235]

But if there's only room for 20,000 then only the first 20,000 would get to be there. I really think LOCOG are going out of their way to ruin the games. But then again if you take the view that the Games are now only about cash generation, they are probably doing a good job.

 

[Boris Bajic]

To be fair, it's difficult to see how else they could do it. Every fan would want to go to see the riders at Box Hill, because that's simply the best place to view, so imagine if 200,000 spectators turn up all at the same time for a viewing area where, say, there's only room for 20,000 - it'd be chaos.

I take the point, but France has managed for decades in July... Italy in May.... Spain.....

 

[raindog]

Yes, but you don't get a massive concentration on one small hill - spectators are spread over the whole route, and the cols are big enough and long enough to take a hell of alot of fans.

Anyroad, it's not my problem - I won't be there.

Mind you, this year the Tour is coming to Sète and is going up the Mont St Clair on the 14th of july FFS!! The whole place will be heaving with mad Frenchmen all pissed on cheap red wine and pastis and I mean to be amongst them.

 

[Boris Bajic]

OT: I always think a Frenchman should win on the 14th - and one often does. Why I care, I don't know; but I do care.

In recent years I've seen this as the consolation prize for not having a Tour winner.

 

[400bhp]

How safe do we think it would be to cycle over there [Box Hill] to watch and leave a bicycle locked up?

 

[caesar]

There will be a BBC big screen and "secure bike parking" at Denbies, close to the foot of Box Hill, for the weekend. I think the screen is supposed to be up on the Friday night for opening ceremony too. Denbies is not on the loop part of the course but isn't far off, so you could park the bike there and walk up to part of the loop then head back for to watch the finish on the big screen. It is also walkable/rideable from Dorking & Box Hill stations.

http://www.surreyhills.org/The-Surrey-Hills/Events/Surrey-Hills-Food---Drink-Festival.aspx

 

[VamP]

How safe do we think it would be to cycle over there [Box Hill] to watch and leave a bicycle locked up?

They had a fairly large secure bike storage for the Surrey Classic dress rehearsal just behind the car park at the top of Box Hill. Be warned it is a long schlep from there to the Donkey Green - take spare shoes! And you'll need your own lock.

TBH it was crowded and hard to see anything with 3,000 people there for The Classic. Hard to imagine it being much better with 20,000 there. Much better to choose a good vantage point elsewhere on the Box Hill loop (not the hill itself) to still get advantage of the 9 loops, and beat the crowds. Oh, and save £15.

 

[VamP]

I take the point, but France has managed for decades in July... Italy in May.... Spain.....

The restrictions are due to it being a National Trust land, and they have strict restrictions on how many people can trample which bits. Away from the NT land it's free and much like the TdF in spirit.

I, personally, hated the regimented nature of the Box Hill viewing during the Classic when there were 3,000 people there, AND didn't see much, so I will definitely be watching elsewhere...

 

[PK99]

The restrictions are due to it being a National Trust land,...

more because it is a SSSI than just being NT land.

 

[martint235]

I'm tempted by the Festival thing at the bottom of Box Hill, may wander along and watch it on the tv

 

[VamP]

more because it is a SSSI than just being NT land.

Right. I knew there was more to it, just forgot