UKC

Impressive coverage on ITV4 and the crowds are great...
'The tour' going through in 2014 was a great spectacle, made really special by the crowds. Really good to see in UK...

In reply to abr1966:

I'll be out tomorrow to see both the women and the men - hope the weather improves a bit. Had a brilliant couple of days last year, riding ahead of the race through Rosedale, Whitby etc - amazed at how many were out supporting

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Why? The English are suckers for any sporting success, indeed for any sporting spectacle. They even queue to sit on a hill in the rain at Wimbledon to watch a screen.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Our local Embsay lad (Pete Williams) is in the break.

In shorts.

In reply to andy:

Belting crowds out on a foul day - they reckon they're going to try to make it four days next year. Well done Sir Gary and friends - another success.

In reply to felt:

Why is he going or why is he impressed with crowds?

If the later - watch a continental "classic" race - these are races with decades of history in countries traditionally seen as cycling (as a sport) supporters - they can't match the numbers by the side of the road in the UK, a country with far less of a history in the sport.

It astonished the pro peleton in 2014, and personally as a long time cycling fan it brought a bit of a lump to my throat seeing it.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

The second, and yes, we agree. Brits are nuts about sports.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

I'm the same....have been road cycling since around 1980 and a bit of a fanboy since then....I remember well when channel 4 started covering cycling, it was great so to see it now, the tour in Yorkshire the other year and the crowds was really something to treasure....

In reply to felt:

Why was I amazed ? Because there were 10s of thousands of people watching a minor race on a work day. There were people in Rosedale taking up position 4 hours in advance. We got cheered everywhere, but particularly as went through Whitby (about 20 mins before the peloton ). Every village on route was doing something - I think we gate crashed a private barbecue on day 2 and no one batted an eyelid.

Ok I know the difference between the TDF and pro-conti race and most people simply wouldn't care. But even as a cycling fan, I would still recognise the fact that they go past in the space of a couple of minutes and would want to make it part of a day's ride

In reply to abr1966:

I remember going to the tdf on Holme Moss, and getting stuck in a bike jam at the junction at the bottom for about 20 minutes as everyone came off the hill. it was astonishing the number of people up there

I also remember in 1995 (iirc) seeing the tour come through my home town at the time (petersfield) and going with all my school mates to see them go up Harting hill (which is still one of the nastiest hills in this area). It wasn't as busy back then, but still a very good turn out.