tour of britain v tour of ireland

sportbilly2008

just back from a few days following the tour of britain accross the water and i have to say that the company who run and organise the tob make the toi look like it is run by amateurs.
i have followed all of the toi since 2007 and this years excuse for a race was a joke.


when i went to the stage start on the first day programmes where only 3 quid which included the programme, team listings ,car stickers,car flags,those inflatable flapper thingies,halfords vouchers and even some blue wristbands,compare that to the stage starts in toi and there was sweet f all.

rolling closed roads with a team of 32 motorbike marshalls and police motorbike riders,not a few guys who put on hi viz vests and then think they are cops.

every school on the route of the race had all the kids make homemade banners and cheered like mad as the race passed

no ridiculous situations like the car parked at the bottom of paddys hill,i mean did the orgainisers of the toi not have the capacity to ring directory enquiries and get a truck to tow it away.


huge crowds at the finish and proper podium anouncers and not some obscure american commentator and defo no david duffield


some people might say that they have a bigger budget but all financial comparasions are relative to cost and income.

how can the toi have a team of seven in a obscure three day race?


before i went over to follow the tob last week i was of the opinion that our national tour was run to the best of their ability but unfortunately this is not the case.

its run in a shabby and amateurish manner and i will be very surprised if it even takes place again

cosman9373

have to agree with you, about toi anyway, as followed it but didn't follow tob.

i was on paddys hill that day, was a joke that car being left there surrounded by signs saying it would to towed and everyone narrowly missing it.

in waterford a candi tv guy who was dropped off the back of the bunch had to plead for directions off a cop who walked out in front of him nearly hitting him and then had to weave through traffic jams into the city even though he was only 3 min back.

road surface was a disgrace with gravel everywhere.

I've been to a lot of amateur events that were better organised than it.

I love the thought of having a toi but agree it doesn't look likely if that continues.

emtroche

Give me the Ras any day.

ROK ON

I can't comment on TOB as haven't seen it.
Just wanted to mention that a bike mag journo (think Graham Watson writing in Pro Cyling or Cycling +) made that point that TOI should be made a UCI 1.1 race. His point was it is a race over a challenging circuit in a beautiful country. He couldn't understand why for example Eneco Tour was 1.1 and TOI was 2.1.

Also mentioned that Nissan was a great race and TOI needed to emulate that. Suggested a 5 days that incuded a crit (using Pats Hill) and a TT stage. Mentioned that Pats Hill should be on day1.

uberwolf

with respect to the marshalling. I raced Belfast-Dublin-Belfast one year (two day)

we left Belfast with outriders everywhere, cars, bikes - every junction covered. Scanlon lead a breakaway virtually from the gun, and the RUC/PSNI handled the split no problem.

Second we hit the border. Virtually nothing. They met us the following day at the border again. Very hard to do something well relying on amateurs and volunteers, even with the best will in the world.

Tackleberry

emtroche wrote: »

Give me the Ras any day.

+ 1 (x 1000!)

However I think it is quite the contrary to what some people are saying here - professionals often do a poorer job in comparison to tireless amateurs - the Ras is a case in point, there are usually 10-15 motorbike marshalls and around 6 garda outriders, local clubs get out to marshall because its their own mates / family racing in it, not the case on the TOI.

The TOI organisers are out to make money, pure and simple, so rider safety, marshalling issues, police coverage etc are all secondary

Slideshowbob

Wasnt there chaos a few years back in the TOB with traffic

maybe they learned their lesson

sportbilly2008

have to add that this year i went to about four stages of the ras ans was impressed by the quality and number of volunteers, orgainisers were on the ball too.

how hard is it to print a programme and 60 euros for a replica jersey is a joke,

one other thing , when i went to watch stage 2 of toi last year, watched the peleton pass me followed by team vehicles and finally the broom wagon,ten mins later a garmin rider and a rider from another team appeared completely on their own

Captain Havoc

sportbilly2008 wrote: »

have to add that this year i went to about four stages of the ras ans was impressed by the quality and number of volunteers, orgainisers were on the ball too.

Amateurs do things because they want to
Professionals do things because they're paid to

Caroline_ie

Are they not both run by the same people? I thought they were.

EDIT: OK they are not, but a lot of the same people are involved in both ( results etc... )

RapidResults

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Are they not both run by the same people? I thought they were.... but a lot of the same people are involved in both ( results etc... )

The two organisers used to be partners in the same company and were responisble for the Nissan Classic and Tours of Britain 1987-1998. They parted ways some years ago.

I'd say at present that there's only a 1% overlap of personnel. Perhaps only two people (broom and results) in same roles in both.

ToB operates in a very tough regulatory regime with heavy scrutiny from police and H&S inspectors. There's a permanent office and a lot of documentation.

One thing I expecially like about ToB it is the 'GoRide' event for kids organised by British Cycling on the finish line about an hour before the finish. Then there's the promotional area for cycling-related goods and services. I think it's a good idea to have tie-ins to recruitment, marketing of new products and local community groups.

Bikerbhoy

As a member of TOI Race staff since it was first run 3 years ago,I have to say this year in light of economic situation it probably would have been better to cancel the race and take the fine from the UCI ...AND....at least the reputation of the race gained from a very well run event last year would have still stood and hopefully we could have picked up where we left off again next year all going well.

It was a very frustrating situation to be in with not enough people for any of the various duties that needed to be carried out, especially this year with more spectators than ever due to a one Lance Armstrong..in attendance
Believe this or not but there was actually no special arrangements or discussions even as to how this whole media/supporter frenzy was going to be handled...it was left to the boys on the ground to work something out themselves that Friday morning and then for each of the following days with no help or back up from Race Organisation.

I could rant on here all night about problems with this years event
working so closely as I did I witnessed alot of issues and yes the cars on Patricks Hill was a disgrace and yes they could have been moved....all cars that were required to be moved at stage depart each morning were moved with the greatest of ease.....this should also have been the case at stage finish but for whatever reasons finish co ordinator felt that they were ok there ????

Probably the most dangerously positioned cars on the whole 3 day route.

How bad did it look on telly?????

Can we get this race back to where we were in 2008.. or better ???
I really hope so because it can be and is a great event not just for the sport , but from a finacial point of view also,tourism etc.
We must not under estimate how important this race is to Ireland

But improvements yes there are many required and I truly hope they are addressed before they think of running another Tour of Ireland.

But change MUST start at the top... the rest will just fall into place.

As Lance once said , and I think it might have been about a slightly bigger event and slightly better organised one too..VIVA LE TOUR............. FOREVER

JAYSUS LOOK AT THE TIME........GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS

Nova_era

The standard of organisation in the TOI was quite apparent this year on Patricks Hill, when amidst the official publicity and support vehicles, 2 girls in a micra sped up past the crowds while having a great laugh. How can a public car be allowed to share the road with a professional cycling race?! Why bother closing the roads at all if you are'nt going to police the roads properly.

I know it was'nt their fault, but the TOI was left with a serious amount of egg on its face with the withdrawl or the two names they had advertised the most in the run up to the race. Maybe changing the layout of the race, having Cork as the first stage, instead of the last?

I know it's great to have St. Patricks Hill on the last stage, but would it not be better to have it first, and if anyone does'nt fancy climbing it, they'll just stay away from the race completely.

And yeah, there was absolutely nothing for the spectator during the TOI, with the exception of An Posts help with the t-shirts and inflatable hands. The Livestrong crowd (to be fare to them, albeit biased), were giving out banners and chalk to the crowd, at least it helped create a bit of an atmosphere.

I still don't agree with the route being cut down to 2 laps of Cork by the way. They say it was for safety reasons, but one less lap does'nt make it any safer. Still 2 laps in which to break a leg.

dave2pvd

Bikerbhoy wrote: »

yes the cars on Patricks Hill was a disgrace and yes they could have been moved........Probably the most dangerously positioned cars on the whole 3 day route.............How bad did it look on telly?????

I think the entire cycling world got to see the car parked at the bottom of Patrick's Hill. The race was broadcast in several countries. And of course there were photos on internet sites too....

Caroline_ie

Bikerbhoy wrote: »

Believe this or not but there was actually no special arrangements or discussions even as to how this whole media/supporter frenzy was going to be handled...it was left to the boys on the ground to work something out themselves that Friday morning and then for each of the following days with no help or back up from Race Organisation.

The story w/ LA was: LA will not talk to anyone before of after the race EXCEPT behind barriers at his team bus after a stage. There was Matt Randell (the cycling author) who worked in the press room with us, present at the Bus to try and make things go smoothly. I really wanted to do that job, but I was deemed not ferocious looking enough
When LA twittered he was on his way from the airport, all the journos, went to the hotels doors along with a good few lurkers. He did not say anything, he only stopped to pet a puppy, called Alpes d’Huez who belonged to one of the journos wife
AFAIK LA was only interviewed by RTE and Velonews privately, everyone else had to wait behind the bus barriers to get to him.

sportbilly2008

acording to a few opinions on uk cycling forums, the only reason it went ahead this year was because pat mc quaid is uci chief.

when i was at the start in powerscourt while standing at the very restrictive bariers in front of the hotel, a couple and their young child were talking to one of the stewards who obviously knew then

presto a few mins later were being brought round the other side of the barriers.

also came across a pic of last years toi of one of the mc quaid brothers(dunno which one) with ulick o connor having glasses of champagne on the route of the race in an official car,this is the same people who promised to fund the pezula team to the end of the season, but dumped them as soon as the toi finished.

maybe if the orgainisers of the race spent their budget specifically forthe race and not looking after their friends it would be in a better situation.


one last thing, it was nice to see an post staff being given passes to v i p section last year, but did not seem to happen this year even though they were sponsoring the sprinters jersey and their own team

emtroche

sportbilly2008 wrote: »

one last thing, it was nice to see an post staff being given passes to v i p section last year, but did not seem to happen this year even though they were sponsoring the sprinters jersey and their own team

That just got me thinking that i have to say fair play to An Post. What they've been doing for cycling in this country has been legendary. Thanks.

Bikerbhoy

sportbilly2008 wrote: »

maybe if the orgainisers of the race spent their budget specifically forthe race and not looking after their friends it would be in a better situation.

There lies a big part of our problem...........!!!!!

velo.2010

Regarding Armstrong, they were lucky to have him at all with the break down of the Astana team after the Tour. Had there been no Global Cancer Summit in Dublin the day after he would not have raced.

Interestingly I spoke to someone invovled in the organisation who claimed that Lance had no intention of climbing Patricks Hill, rain or no rain. It seems his security detail didnt fancy letting him make his own way up without proper a escort! Surprising given little auld Irelands reputation as a friendly nation but it seems that Armsrong is too high profile a target no matter where he goes.

Slideshowbob

You can say what u like about the organisation of TOI but if they didnt organise it - there would be nothing. I don't see anyone else biting at their ankles to take over the tour.

OK the finishing circuit was dodge in cork this year but (apart from the cars at bottom of hill) alot of that was down to the weather, and the organisers can't be blamed for that.

zzzzzzzz

TOI back to 5 days next year.

http://www.velonews.com/article/98566

mattock

As with everything in sport, we always seem to fall behind.

Junior

I'd love to see us attempt to get the World Championships here ..

Captain Havoc

Junior wrote: »

I'd love to see us attempt to get the World Championships here ..

If they got rid of the cattle grids, horse shyte and poorly parked cars on the roads it'd be fantastic way to promote the country. The government may even resurface some roads. The scenery in Wicklow is as good as any I've seen on a sunny day.

Dura Ace

Junior wrote: »

I'd love to see us attempt to get the World Championships here ..

It had been proposed to hold the Worlds here a few years ago, but the plans were shelved. Apart from Killarney, any other thoughts on a reasonably sized town or city with an airport nearby that could host it? I don't think St. Patrick's Hill would be your typical type of hill for a World's Circuit, and the Wicklow Mountains are too far from Dublin City Centre for a 15km lap.

Here's a link to a Dail debate about the topic from 2001.

http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0535/D.0535.200105010007.html

Esroh

Galway would be the obvious place . 3 within airports within 1.5 hours. Galway itself ,Knock, Shannon. A loop around Moycullen Barna Salthill would be approx 30km. City has plenty of hotels and has the experience to handle an event of this size. Ie the Volvo RW. Then again it is in the west so I suppose that rules it out

Bikerbhoy

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

TOI back to 5 days next year.

http://www.velonews.com/article/98566

This is great news...... but watch what happens now , not a dickie bird until 2 weeks before race start ....We should be starting to promote and organise this event HERE at least 6 months before it kicks off.

What I mean from HERE is.... on the ground in Ireland and not from Alan Rushtons desk.... in the UK

sportbilly2008

i am sure that the same thing happened at last years uci meeting and look what happened!it was as if the company in charge sat on their hands until late june-early july and then realised that commercial interests were not throwing their money at them.

IM0

jerseyeire wrote:

The scenery in Wicklow is as good as any I've seen on a sunny day.

Not sure if Im quoting myself here...Im sure Ive used those exact words on here.. but anyway agreed it truly is world class.

IM0

Dura Ace wrote:

and the Wicklow Mountains are too far from Dublin City Centre for a 15km lap.

but not the Dublin ones :pac:

Captain Havoc

emtroche wrote: »

That just got me thinking that i have to say fair play to An Post. What they've been doing for cycling in this country has been legendary. Thanks.

+1 Between sponsoring the TOI, Seán Kelly academy, the cycle series etc..... They've really put a lot into it and their cycle series events were well organised.

Slideshowbob

jerseyeire wrote: »

+1 Between sponsoring the TOI, Seán Kelly academy, the cycle series etc..... They've really put a lot into it and their cycle series events were well organised.

agreed

i saw an an post van the other day and thought fair play to them for all they do for Irish cycling

Captain Havoc

me@ucd wrote: »

Not sure if Im quoting myself here...Im sure Ive used those exact words on here.. but anyway agreed it truly is world class.

Damn, caught red handed, please don't sue me for plagiarism