Tour of Britain hit business in Colchester claim - UPDATED

I hope this photo shows people what it was like watching. Yes there is loads of happy people crammed in 7 deep but also does highlight the difficulties with the position of the finish line - just to the left of shot

On telly the cameras made it look like there wasnt loads of people there but that was probably because loads were just wedged in the traffic jam at the finish and couldn't move down the course.

Either way was great to see such a high level of racing come to Colchester and it was enjoyed by many thousands of people on the day.

The criticism from the survey should be used to help improve the next event for all parties concerned.

As a colchestarian and attendee of the event, i have to say it was very well run and managed. I do agree with Trev above.
Most people enjoyed the event very much. I also know of some who watched and so inspired are now cycling too
We are not ALL moaners in Colchester, its a great town really

As a Colchester local being described as a "moany twat" on a cycling forum is insulting - Thanks John.

Having been at the race it was obvious that the layout of the event was not ideal for promoting business in the town centre. The finish line was outside the Castle at the top of East Hill at the Junction with the High st. and Queen st. this was great from the race as the the road narrows further up into the shops and would have also negated the effect of the hill leading to the finish. What this did do however was mean that from a spectator point of view we were all crammed on to the Minories side of the street where the pavements are narrow and it was a real squeeze and impossible for disabled access.

From the towns point of view all the high street was closed off to cars for all the Go ride bits and pieces. The 8 man bikes and other bits which were just ignored by most people and the high street had an eerie feel to it . I can completely understand why shops saw less business as the bulk of spectators left the event and then drifted in to the Castle park where there was more ToB related amusements.

Basically the event would have been much more of a success, in my opinion, if the finish line was 250m further up the road - say outside the town hall. Then there would have been much better consideration for spectators and local businesses with a real bustle outside the high street shops.

I did feel at the time that the event was a real missed opportunity for business and was disappointed by the lack of atmosphere in the town in comparison to Bury st Edmunds and Long Melford where the towns clearly benefited from the event.

It is also worth mentioning that Colchester was regarded as the most accommodating of the Tour Series hosts last year from the organisers that I have spoken to personally, and yes it is a cycling town.

wouldn't worry too much on that one t1mmyb - apart from you and Dave, and he only seems to comment on their website, who actually reads the Bath Chronicle? All the non-cycling types I've met thought the Sky Ride was great.

As for Colchester John - to be fair to the locals I'm sure I remember reading some reaction from there after the same councillor slagged off the Tour Series and it was overwhelmingly positive. Colchester is also one of Cycling England's Cycling Towns - so you'd imagine there'd be some local support for pedal power.

After the mauling the Sky Ride got in the local press, God help us if the ToB ever comes to Bath

Thing is, this year's ToB was fantastic, and I was glued to the telly for most of the stages. A lot of them I saw and thought, "Hmm, that's a nice place, must go there sometime."

Unfortunately, in Colchester's case, I'll now think, "Hmm, that's the place with those moany tw*ts, isn't it?" A bit like the Etape Caledonia's ACRE, I wish the businesses who did object would make themselves known, so I could boycott them next time I'm over that way, and favour those supporting the event.

Interestingly, our local radio (Radio Stoke) had a phone in programme in the week ahead of last Sunday's Tour Ride in which the presenter took a similar tack, bemoaning the effect of bringing the race to the city (albeit more on the lines of taxpayers' money being spent on it). I didn't hear the programme myself, but Mrs Monkey reported that a lot of callers disagreed strongly, pointing out that the exposure the town got, and the promotion of Stoke as a cycling city was something well worth the expenditure.

There is hope, I suppose, at least in the potteries.

Hmm, worthy of a letter to the paper pointing out that she opposed the race and questioning the accuracy of her findings on grounds of personal bias then.

Sounds to me like sour grapes. Perhaps she can't get her 4x4 parked in the town center on that day, so wants everyone else to suffer.

Let's not blame Colchester Council - this survey wasn't carried out by them but by the local Conservative's shadow head of tourism & economy Sue Lissimore. She was also pretty vocal last year in opposing the Tour Series going to Colchester because of road closures in the city centre as we reported here http://road.cc/content/news/4429-cycling-campaigners-hit-back-tour-serie...

Purely anecdotal - I'm sure the impact was negligible or made up for on subsequent days. Nice solid bit of research, a bit like asking Daily Mail readers about immigration.

This is just typical of the 'anti - health, cycling' mentality of many councils throughout the UK. They would rather see vehicles flocking to their towns so they can rake in parking charges, and big businesses prospering and paying rates rather than promoting large events like the Tour of Britain and encouraging tourism in the area!

The survey highlights that the 4% of businesses that did well were food outlets but does not highlight the makeup of the 68% that fared badly. There is no mention made of B&B's and hotels seeing an increase of trade. It was only one day in the year which is not going to bankrupt in one fell swoop!

I suppose we can be thankful that the locals were not scattering tacks on the route like the Etape Caladonia the other year!!!

Glastonbury was packed...I wonder why colchester seemed different?

Very typical of Colchester council to carry this survey out, it's only one day for christ's sake! Just another indication of the severe lack of interest and support for cycling in the UK.

Did London traders complain when it went through the very next day? Of course not!