Length of a criterium course

in message <[email hidden]>, David

Martin (') said:

OK, supposing one were to be foolish enough to want to promote a
criterium, what length circuit should be used?

As you know I've just done this. Our course was about 630 metres. We were
worried that this was too short but in practice it worked superbly, with
riders lapping in about a minute - less on sprint laps - and plenty for
spectators to see. With a course this short we had to allow riders who
punctured two laps to get back in, because one just wasn't feasible.

The single most critical thing is to have a commissaire with experience;
the second most important thing is good liaison with police and local
authority. Plan well ahead because it takes far longer to get a road
closure approved than you would believe. If your address is valid I'll
bung you a copy of my debrief report of the event.

I'd encourage you - our event seems to have been seen by everyone as a
great success.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; not so much a refugee from reality, more a bogus
;; asylum seeker

David Martin said:

OK, supposing one were to be foolish enough to want to promote a
criterium, what length circuit should be used?

I'm sure Simon Brooke will be along any minute with his personal
experiences. Meanwhile, the Crawley Crit used a 1km course.

Tim

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, David

Martin (') said:

OK, supposing one were to be foolish enough to want to promote a
criterium, what length circuit should be used?

As you know I've just done this. Our course was about 630 metres. We were
worried that this was too short but in practice it worked superbly, with
riders lapping in about a minute - less on sprint laps - and plenty for
spectators to see. With a course this short we had to allow riders who
punctured two laps to get back in, because one just wasn't feasible.

The single most critical thing is to have a commissaire with experience;
the second most important thing is good liaison with police and local
authority. Plan well ahead because it takes far longer to get a road
closure approved than you would believe. If your address is valid I'll
bung you a copy of my debrief report of the event.

I'd encourage you - our event seems to have been seen by everyone as a
great success.

I have this vague idea of using roads in one or other of the industrial
estates that are essentially unused at the weekend. I had a look at the
various options. We could do a short course (0.5 miles) with no through
road closures (all on side streets). One of the main issues would be
what facilities are required.

My email address is valid.

...d

David Martin said:

I have this vague idea of using roads in one or other of the industrial
estates that are essentially unused at the weekend. I had a look at the
various options. We could do a short course (0.5 miles) with no through
road closures (all on side streets).

Half a mile sounds ideal, with sharp corners to ensure the bunch gets
strung out. :-)

--
Dave...

dkahn400 said:

David Martin said:

I have this vague idea of using roads in one or other of the industrial
estates that are essentially unused at the weekend. I had a look at the
various options. We could do a short course (0.5 miles) with no through
road closures (all on side streets).

Half a mile sounds ideal, with sharp corners to ensure the bunch gets
strung out. :-)

I'll have a bit of a ride round and start to lay plans, find out what
is involved in promoting such an event. It could be a really nice thing
to have a season long series but that all depends on how much such
events cost to promote, and what the uptake would be.

...d