Cycling race rerouted due to Wales' 20mph limit

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A cycling race has been shortened and rerouted due to Wales' 20mph default speed limit, organisers have said.

Three of the five stages of the Junior Tour of Wales, which starts on Friday, have been changed as support vehicles would not be able to keep up with the riders without speeding.

The race's finish has also been moved from Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire, the home of three-time Olympic cycling medallist Emma Finucane.

The Welsh government said it had worked with organisers to make sure the race could go ahead safely.

Richard Hopkins, the race organiser, said: "A Welsh government scheme designed to enable cycle races to manage race and public safety through 20mph zones has failed, leaving us with a major problem. Even though there was only seven miles of 20mph across the whole 237-mile, four-day race, and even then split into a number of very short sections, we couldn't guarantee to manage all of them safely."

Speed limits do not apply to cyclists, meaning safety and support vehicles would not be able to keep up, Mr Hopkins said.

A total of 100 riders will start the race in Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, on Friday and head through Powys and Pembrey Country Park in Carmarthenshire over the weekend. The race concludes with a final stage through Monmouthshire on Monday.

Mr Hopkins said he was hoping the race would go ahead as planned after the changes had been made and said some of the riders may be disappointed with the changes.

He said: "In the process we've lost a large part of the character and challenge the event is famous for - including our stage finish in Nantgaredig, the home village of Welsh Olympic champion Emma Finucane, as well as the climb of the Black Mountain in Carmarthenshire. It's massively demoralising, after putting so much effort into trying to make the race as a whole viable, and it also leaves me wondering what's going to happen next, because every time I think we might be in a good place, something else rolls along to knock it back."


The Railway in Nantgaredig usually welcomes the riders home on the final stage

Melanie Phillips-Rees, the landlady of the Railway Hotel in Nantgaredig said the race not ending in the town would have an impact on business. "It's disappointing that the race will not be able to follow its usual route as it has always been an attraction that has drawn attention and support from the local community. We have a number of aspiring young cyclists in the area and the completion of the race here allows them to witness an amazing event first hand, an opportunity that will now be missed."

The Welsh government: "The priority for any race is always to ensure that it is safe for all participants and other road users in accordance with police/highway authority requirements. The introduction of 20mph does not change this position. We have worked with the race organisers to develop various options to ensure the race can go ahead."

Welsh Cycling said it supported the default speed limit being lowered because of the improvement to road safety for cyclists, but said it had "presented some challenges for delivering road racing".

[rogerw]

I was surprised to read that speed limits do not apply to cyclists. I always thought that they applied to all road users

[eXPassenger]

I was surprised to read that speed limits do not apply to cyclists. I always thought that they applied to all road users

They do not apply to cyclists or traction engines because they are not fitted with speedometers.

[Chris from Nailsea]

My mountain bike did have a speedometer - that was fun! 

I love to watch clips on YouTube of traction engines 'going up Camborne Hill, coming down' ... see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmZf-Rb8tE 

[Marlburian]

The 20mph limit has also caused some agonising for time-triallists, where cyclists race against the clock, usually as individuals, with no following cars.

I had a speedometer on my first bike, a BSA Legionnaire three-speed roadster, on which I broke 40mph going down Blunsdon Hill, north of Swindon; the machine's weight must have helped.

[JayMac]

Whilst speed limits do not apply to cyclists there are other laws that could cover cycling too fast for the conditions.

If injury to another person is caused by a speeding cyclist there's the possible charge, wonderfully named, of 'wanton and furious driving.' Up to two years in prison for that. That's from the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

A specific offence of Causing Death by Dangerous Cycling was due to be enacted earlier this year but it didn't make it onto the statute book before the dissolution of parliament ahead of the general election.

There are also offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 that cover dangerous and careless cycling. These could be used if any speeding cyclist is deemed to be riding dangerously or carelessly.

Local authorities and other bodies with statutory powers (such as parks authorities) can however enact byelaws to introduce cycling speed limits in off road areas. Hampstead Heath in London, for example, has an 8mph cycling speed limit.

[Marlburian]

An article on Road.CC offers a different perspective:

"... from what I’ve observed in previous years, the driving by the team vehicles has been very poor,” Matthew Page told road.cc.
“They were speeding along narrow roads – some without pavements – where parked cars and speed humps are common. I’d estimate they were going over 50mph past a school and houses, with no police, NRG vehicles, or marshals present at difficult junctions. Additionally, there was no prior warning given to residents, which really isn’t acceptable.”

(The school would have been closed.)

With racing cyclists averaging 25-26mph over several hours, there must have been many occasions when accompanying cars and motor-cyclists have broken the 30mph speed limit, as when years ago the Tour of Britain came down Overdown Road in Tilehurst, ascended Kentwood Hill and dashed down Norcot Hill at 50mph to the finish.