When the Tour of Britain came to VeloViewer’s home town last week our Office Manager Rachel was on the scene in Sheffield to report on the event, and joined the Central Escort Group (CEG) for the race.
Here Rachel gives us the inside view on her experience….
Is it only a week since we welcomed the men’s Tour of Britain to South Yorkshire for Stage 3?
I had the absolute thrill of being invited to ride in the Central Escort Group (CEG) lead police car. It was an exciting opportunity to experience the race safety and security operations up close and personal, and in particular how the police use the VeloViewer WorldTour package to support their endeavours. West Yorkshire Police coordinates the CEG and is led by Sergeant Duncan Street. It is comprised of a lead and end of race car, CEG motorcyclists, plus is joined on race days by a group of National Escort Group (NEG) motorcyclists.
Of course, the preparation for the Tour commences months ahead when Duncan and his British Cycling Events counterparts (BCE, the race organiser) do several reconnaissance trips to check the suitability of each possible stage. For this they each use the VeloViewer WorldTour package to add waymarkers to the route to indicate warnings and road information for their own staff (in the case of the police) and, additionally, for Teams, Media and Commissaires (in the case of the race organiser). The police have a bespoke set of waymarkers for their specific needs such as identifying where live traffic may be active, and when traffic management is required.
On the day of the race, communication is key! Duncan was in regular comms with BCE staff – the Route and Race Directors – to share arising issues such as an accident on the route or slippery road conditions, whilst his colleague Matt provided support on the radio handling messages from local police and gathering information of any incidents for post-race reporting.
Once we reached KM0, Dan, who was driving, ensured we kept a gap of approx 2-3 minutes ahead of the lead cyclists so there wasn’t any opportunity to see the race, however the Race Radio gave regular updates of the leaders and distance to the peloton. Occasionally, we sped further ahead if some traffic management was required on the route and our car was best positioned for this.
Despite the misty and, sometimes, drizzly weather the South Yorkshire crowds were out in force. There was tremendous support from enthusiastic school children lining the route with their homemade posters and flags, an abundance of local cyclists, many displaying their club colours – no doubt, dreaming of joining the peloton – as well as a plethora of our four legged friends! It was joyous to hear the sound of the siren and wave to the crowds at every opportunity, helping to stoke the anticipation of the arrival of the race just behind us.
We arrived in Barnsley at 3pm so I sprinted up to the finishing straight just in time to see the sprint for the line. Bravo Stevie Williams on the stage win!
Stage 3 was a challenging route for CEG to manage due to the built up area and volume of feeder roads. However, on the day you would never have known. In the car it was calm at all times made easier by the preparation using VV WT and use of it on the day. Thank you CEG for letting me join you and for putting up with my endless questions but more importantly thank you for delivering a safe and secure race.
West Yorkshire Police Sergeant Duncan Street commented: “As always great to work with you and the team at Veloviewer and I look forward to doing so over the coming years.”