"Ludicrous": Disappointed RideLondon cyclists learn safety car will set 22mph pace limit

Maybe they just want to ride fast, you dont get many opportunities to ride a closed road so to find out at the 11th hour that there is a pace car setting an arbitrary limit is rather annoying.

Except people have paid good money on the basis that for one day, they could ride as fast as theyliked / are capable of on safe, closed roads.

Not cool, and rather negates the appeal of a closed road sportive. 

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race.   Number on back not bars.  Simple.

If you want to ride fast on closed roads but racing isn't your thing, enter a closed road sportive. Simple. Or it should be...

Rendel Harris wrote:

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race.   Number on back not bars.  Simple.

If you want to ride fast on closed roads but racing isn't your thing, enter a closed road sportive. Simple. Or it should be...

Where you're riding near your limit with other less experianced riders who are there for the challenge of the distance and may not be used to others passing them closely and at speed.

rct wrote:

Rendel Harris wrote:

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race.   Number on back not bars.  Simple.

If you want to ride fast on closed roads but racing isn't your thing, enter a closed road sportive. Simple. Or it should be...

 

Where you're riding near your limit with other less experianced riders who are there for the challenge of the distance and may not be used to others passing them closely and at speed.

 

Which is exactly why those faster and more experienced riders will be starting first. This will just lead to bunching at the front, and risk exactly the issues they think they're trying to prevent.

rct wrote:

Where you're riding near your limit with other less experianced riders who are there for the challenge of the distance and may not be used to others passing them closely and at speed.

So the best thing to do would be to separate the fastest, most experienced riders and the novices as much as possible, wouldn't it? Jamming a 22 mph speed limit on the front of the event will have a concertina effect on the whole field and increase the likelihood of exactly what you are saying should be avoided.

rct wrote:

Rendel Harris wrote:

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race.   Number on back not bars.  Simple.

If you want to ride fast on closed roads but racing isn't your thing, enter a closed road sportive. Simple. Or it should be...

 

Where you're riding near your limit with other less experianced riders who are there for the challenge of the distance and may not be used to others passing them closely and at speed.

 

best way to avoid this is to put the faster riders in the early waves and the slower riders in the later waves and let the field spread out, it is not to put faster riders into later (non speed limited) waves so they can catch up with the previous groups, otherwise might as well do away witht he waves all together and let everyone have a nice steady cruise around at 22mph chatting in the peleton.

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race.   Number on back not bars.  Simple.

I don't think anyone's saying they want to race (as in, race against other participants).  Maybe they just want to ride fast / race against themselves, what with it being closed roads and all...?

The closed roads are there for the protection of (up to) 30,000 riders on the route, not to enable them to "race themselves".  Which they won't be as they'll be drafting.  

Plenty of TT's in the UK, roadraces and even 3 closed road circuits in London where you can race others, or "race yourselves" safely.

rct wrote:

The closed roads are there for the protection of (up to) 30,000 riders on the route, not to enable them to "race themselves".  Which they won't be as they'll be drafting.  

 

Plenty of TT's in the UK, roadraces and even 3 closed road circuits in London where you can race others, or "race yourselves" safely.

At the risk of going all Nigel, I'd have thought TTs on open roads were more dangerous than not limiting the speed on Ride London.

As other have pointed out, in other events the faster riders are those who paid extra to be at the front. Most organised rides ask how fast you have completed previously so you normally get put in faster groups. (although I have been in some where they thought it was better to put faster ones last and slower ones first and accidents have happened).

Now all that will happen is faster riders might deliberately start later so they can travel as far as possible as fast as possible before being slowed down. Also even though there is no big hills or descents, is the car still going to be going 22mph downhill?

rct wrote:

If you want to race enter a race. Number on back not bars. Simple.

What, like these people?

Saying that it would be 'racing' if cycling above 22mph is ignorant. In our club we have many ordinary sunday rides that go at about that speed, its very common and not racy. 

Prosper0 wrote:

Saying that it would be 'racing' if cycling above 22mph is ignorant. In our club we have many ordinary sunday rides that go at about that speed, its very common and not racy.

Quite, and most non-racy, non-club riders can safely exceed 22mph on downhills - they'll have lots of experience doing that. What many RL riders won't have is experience of is the very large bunch that this measure seems to make inevitable.

While small groups would form naturally, this looks like leading to one massive group consisting of many inexperienced riders with a much greater chances of a really major pile-up.

Glad I won't be there!

sounds like you are equating going fast with racing, which is not what defines racing.

No sportive has had a safety car travelling in front in order to constrain the speed before, certainly not Ride London. Why they have suddenly decided to do this is unclear but is perhaps from the same ignorant position. 

Hmm, for someone who complained about slower riders on Ride London and was completing it in 22+ mph, you seem to have changed your tune now Nige.