Race Day!

Well what a fantastic day it has been made even better by the spectators who turned out in their thousands and cheered the riders on. Once again I would like to thank the people of Lincoln for their support and help with this race, you have all been excellent and should be commended for your efforts to help us make this a safe environment for the top class field of riders we get every year.

There are too many other to thank here but of course the Police and City council once again for their support plus of course out sponsors with out who it would be impossible.

Please click on the results button for a complete set of results of the race and you can also find a race lap by lap story giving you a flavour of the event.

May 7^th and 4 days to go !

Even the weather is beginning to look good for Sunday, and it needs to after last year’s deluge, and not much better the year before either.

Please note that the Start Time is 10 am this year.

This is at the request of the police so as not to affect both the morning and afternoon shopping peaks. If the next Prime Minister decides to abolish Sunday trading, he’ll be getting my vote.

Everything else is unchanged from previous years, for further news look at ‘The Press’ tab on this web site.

See you all on Sunday,

Ian Emmerson

Lincoln Grand Prix Update – March 22^nd 2008

The Grand Prix lost a friend and valuable race official this month with the sad and untimely death of Brian Cossavella who passed away suddenly on March 1^st. Brian was well known for organising the world masters track championships in Manchester, he also organised many other major events, including the 1996 world track championships, the Cleveland Grand Prix and the 1997 world table tennis championships. Brian’s funeral was attended by many of his friends and colleagues from both his social and sporting life. The Grand Prix and many other events will miss him. I have known Brian for some 30 years and was honoured to read the eulogy at the funeral.

The Grand Prix organisation gathers momentum with just 7 weeks to go to May 11th. British Cycling have appointed the main officials for the race, these being David Menzies from Edinburgh, Willi Tarran from Harlow and Julie Benham from East Yorkshire. This will be David’s first visit to the Lincoln and we hope that he will be truly impressed with the event. Willi and Julie have both been before and know the sociable nature of the day. I only hope that the weather of the past two years does not repeat itself and that the sun will shine for us this year.

Peter Odam of tss events has taken on the role of marshalling the event and the liaison with Lincolnshire Police and County Councils on road closures. I am pleased to say that this is progressing well and several improvements are planned for this year. The race marshals will be a mix of accredited stewards and club members under the control of tss. The race has also appeared on the Safety Advisory Group agenda in March with another meeting schedule for April.

A major change this year is to the start time. This has traditionally been at 11.30 am but the increase in traffic caused by Sunday shopping has made it the busiest day of the week for local traffic. Traffic studies have shown that there are two peaks in the day, one around 11 am and one around 2 pm. The old start time would have meant the road closures and diversions affecting both peaks, so the start has been brought forward at the request of the police to 10 am to relieve the afternoon disruption. I realise that this will cause many to have earlier starts but the 1.30 pm finish time will give you time to enjoy Lincoln’s historic tourist areas.

The race circuit is unchanged from previous years with 11 laps of the 8 mile circuit to be completed.

Entries are now coming in, around 40 at the moment, but with closing day still 3 weeks away it is still early days. Our friends from the Ruter Dakkapellen Wielerteam in Holland are back with a strong team this year and invites have gone out to other foreign teams to add to the line up of Britain’s best competitors. A similar entry to last year’s 180 is expected.

The race supporters and sponsors are confirming their involvement, the confirmed current list being Lincoln City Council, Jackson Building Centres, Rick Hall Construction, PKF Accountants, Kingston Communications, Chattertons Solicitors, NatWest Bank, Impsport, Lincolnshire CoOp, Holland Brothers Jaguar, Marshall Land Rover. Negotiations continue with other organisations to help to balance the books. The race now costs over £30,000 to organise and every bit of help is welcome.

Kingston Communications are new to the race this year and we welcome them on board. The company provide telecommunication services to businesses in the area and are expanding out from their Hull base.

The race will again feature on Eurosport and cycling.tv which is important for the event and shows the nature of the City of Lincoln and its surrounding countryside, and of course the cobbled 1in 6 climb of Michaelgate leading to the finish area in Castle Square.

VIP Hosting has been taken on by The Lincolnshire Sports Partnership who will be inviting all the race sponsors and supporters to a function at The Judges Lodgings during the race. They will also invite many of the City’s movers and shakers to the event which can only be good for the future. This will be followed by a buffet lunch where the partnership will be announcing its Lincolnshire Elite Athlete Programme (LEAP). LEAP is a programme designed to support talented sportspeople from Lincolnshire to develop and deliver on their ability. It will form part of ‘Lincolnshire 2012’ aiming to support Lincolnshire performers make the London 2012 Games and provide a legacy supporting athletes being selected future Games.

The current UK sports system provides funding for top end elite performers through Lottery funding but the tier below that has what could be best described as ‘patchwork’ support. We intend to offer a better, more consistent level of support to that level of performer in Lincolnshire.

LEAP Athletes will be restricted to those sports which are paid up members of the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership (LSP). They will be identified at three tiers of support and selected in partnership with the relevant National Governing Body (NGB). Initially there will be a maximum of 20 tier one LEAP Athletes, 10 tier two LEAP Athletes and 5 tier three LEAP Athletes. I am pleased to say that cycling is now a member of the partnership and can benefit from the scheme.

Support for LEAP Athletes will initially be at the discretion of other funders who will use the fact that an individual is on LEAP to short cut their usual procedures. Over time a programme of events to raise funds for LEAP will be established including a quarterly business lunch club, annual sportsman’s dinner and half yearly corporate golf days. Once a profile has been achieved, sponsorship opportunities will be added to the mix. In addition, LSP will develop four courses to support LEAP Athletes and their coaches and family.

Ian Emmerson, Race Organiser, March 22^nd 2008.

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Lincoln Grand Prix Update – November 28^th 2007

A further meeting was held on Wednesday, November 28^th with the police and City and County Council Officers to discuss arrangements for the 2008 event. This was attended by myself and Mike Griffin.

There was a positive attitude from all parties to ensure that the race is held under conditions as safe as possible both for the competitors themselves and for the general public. Following a request to review the race marshalling arrangements, local company tss events have been engaged to look after this most crucial area. tss are already involved in the Lincoln 10k Run and the Annual Lincoln Christmas Market and it was a natural move forwards to engage them in the Grand Prix. Previously the police had suggested that volunteer marshals should not be used in 2008 but this has bee relaxed somewhat in order to integrate some volunteers in to the arrangements but under the control of tss. This will also necessitate some advance training which would also benefit the club members involved for other club promotions on the highway. More news on this in due course but please keep your diaries free that day as it is hoped that as many as possible can be used. Circuit set up and close down volunteers will also be needed in the finish and Michaelgate areas. The course will not be changed and will be the same as last year and many years before that.

The other main issue revolves around the start and finish time of the race and the effect upon road traffic now that Sunday shopping has become as popular if not more popular as other days of the week. The traffic pattern now produces two peak periods, one in the late morning, and another in mid afternoon. The current start time of11.30 am means that the race affects both of these peak periods. In order to minimise disruption the police have requested a 10 am start which will give a finish time of approximately 1.30 pm. This has been agreed to as an experiment for 2008 with a review for 2009.

Obviously this will move all the pre-event plans forward by 90 minutes which means setting up the course that much earlier, briefing meetings earlier and an earlier start for all the competitors and enthusiasts travelling to Lincoln for the race. There are other issues involved with this change which we will have to meet, the primary one being the number of churches on the circuit and their morning services. However nothing is impossible so these challenges will have to be met and resolved.

So that’s where we are with advance planning at the moment, these now have to be refined to pass the Safety Advisory Group in the New Year and action plans prepared. More information will be posted on the VCL website and the Grand Prix website as it is agreed by all parties.

Ian Emmerson, Race Organiser, November 28^th 2007.

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Lincoln Grand Prix Update – October 16^th 2007

A meeting was held with Lincoln Police on Thursday October 11^th to discuss arrangements for 2007. At a previous meeting that had requested that the distance around the circuit be increased in order to give a longer lap time which would give them more time to clear the delayed traffic in between laps.

An addition to the circuit was suggested to them which involved continuing an the B1398 past Burton to North Carlton, descending through the village to the Brattleby Cross Roads and turning left to join the A57. This would have added about 5 miles to the circuit or about an extra 10 minutes to clear traffic. The disadvantages would be the B1398 would need to be closed at the Tillbridge Lane Cross Roads, the roads from the B1398 to the A57 would need to have a one way order due to the narrow width and the A57 would need to be closed down longer in order for the outgoing traffic to clear the extra distance. The police accepted that this was a non-starter and agreed to keep the circuit as it is.

The meeting then turned to the subject of marshalling which had a few problems last year with some marshals not turning up and others not staying in position till after the last lap had passed. This does not concern the points marshalled by VCL members although the police also objected to the use of junior members on the traffic islands.

As a result of these problems they have decided that volunteer marshals will no longer be acceptable to them and that we will need to bring in experienced stewards with an accredited organisation in charge of them. The alternative would be for them to substantially increase the police presence which would in turn increase the amount that they charge the event for their assistance. Based upon the numbers of police used in 2007 this will already be about £10,500 in 2008 – so that was not a road to go down either.

Following the meeting I have spoken with TSS Events who staff the Lincoln 10K run and the Christmas Market and I think that a satisfactory arrangement can be agreed with them. TSS will join us at the next meeting with the police and also take over the onerous position of Safety Officer, a role done very well by Rob Finegan from Rochdale last year. Rob feels that being from outside of Lincoln he is at a disadvantage when it comes to discussions on traffic flows etc.

This does not mean that we will not want some experienced VCL stewards but I’ll get back to you on how you can help in another update.

The police had also requested that we consider an earlier start for the race, currently 11.30 am, in order to finish before the Sunday shopping peaks. They asked for a 10 am start which I am resisting as it would mean having to start the Bailgate/ Castle Square/Michaelgate set up that much earlier which I am sure would not go down too well with the occupants of the White Hart Hotel at 6 in the morning. I have asked them to look at the traffic patterns with a view to a later start of 2 pm which is something they had not thought of. So no decision on that yet.

One of the major problems we experienced last year was the effect that The Race for Life had on the traffic flows in the area. This was held at The Lincolnshire Showground and despite my protestations was allowed to go ahead, starting at 11 am. The effect of some 5,000 competitors trying to access the Showground meant that the by-pass, the A15 and the B1398 were already in grid lock before the GP started which I had warned of repeatedly, but to no effect. I just knew that the GP would get the blame and have been proven correct. The date or venue of the 2008 Race for Life is currently not known but we are keeping our ears and eyes open, so if you hear anything about this before I do please let me know.

So that’s about where we are now and I’ll update you again as the event comes together but please keep Sunday, May 11^th clear in your diaries as your help will be needed.

Ian Emmerson, Race Organiser, October 16^th 2007

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September 2007

The 53rd Lincoln Grand Prix.

Initial planning is taking place for the 2008 Lincoln Grand Prix which will be the 53rd edition in this classic race's history. Debriefing meetings on the 2007 race have already been held with both Lincoln City Council and Lincolnshire Police where this year's event was discussed in some detail. The biggest problem faced is the ever increasing volume of traffic on our roads with traffic levels on a Sunday morning being as high as a weekday as shoppers take advantage of large stores open on Sundays.

When this race first started using the town circuit back in 1984 the circuit actually travelled up Lincoln's High Street from Wigford Way, through the Stonebow and upper High Street to turn left to access the Michaelgate climb.  The finish line was actually at the bridge outside where the Waterside Shopping Centre access now lies. We also had a hill prime line in Castle Square and a separate King of the Mountains Classification. At that time we had two races on the circuit at the same time with the junior West Common Road Race also taking place but over a few laps less than the Grand Prix. The start of Sunday shopping put an end to that after a few years and the circuit switched to that used today, passing through Lincoln via Long Leys Road, Yarborough Road, West Parade and Hungate and on to Michaelgate with the finish line in Castle Square.

Traffic densities forced us to drop the junior race some years ago and we also now have to withdraw dropped riders in order to clear the traffic between laps. The Grand Prix is highly regarded as a safe race and one of the most popular in the country with large crowds every year, even in pouring rain as this year and last year. If we ever get the weather right the crowds will be huge. Unfortunately the traffic continues to increase and the police have asked us to look at ways of creating a larger time gap between the back of the race and the leaders reappearing in order to move the traffic held up at the major junctions. We are actively pursuing this line and may have a couple of ideas to put to them at the next meeting on October 11th.

The date for 2008 has already been set as Sunday May 11th, traditionally now the Sunday after the Spring Bank Holiday Monday. An event of this size and nature cannot take place without the support of every club member with the circuit needing around 80 marshals to ensure the safety of the 150 riders taking the start. At the moment we have to bring in around 35 marshals from outside the club but if the right number of adults can be enrolled from with the club and its friends this would be a great step forward and we could organise some training days for marshals in the lead up to the event. British Cycling are also talking to me about organising courses for accredited marshals who would then assist at other major events. This would go down well with the police who may then reduce or not increase their numbers on duty. We currently have to pay out around £10,000 for their services which is money that could be well used elsewhere to improve the event. A police free promotion would be Utopia on a circuit like ours but we will have to expect some payments to be made for officers on major junctions and the motorcycle escort. A club with around 150 members should be able to produce sufficient support to do this job without external support and we need to explore this requirement in the next few months.

The Grand Prix is our shop window on cycle racing bringing it in to the public eye, I wonder how many club members come to the VCL as a result of seeing the race ? A regular blog on the VCL web site and the Grand Prix's own web site (www.lincolngrandprix.org.uk) will keep you all up to date with plans for 2008 as they evolve.

Ian Emmerson, Race Organiser