News

The London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has bowed to pressure to increase spectator capacity at one of the most coveted advantage points of the road race. Capacity at the 200 metre Box Hill in Surrey, a paid area, has been increased from 3000 to 15 000 people.

Box Hill is owned by the National Trust, which has voiced its concerned over the environmental impact of an large assembly of people. However, further investigation suggests that very few species will be impacted by the gathering and race infrastructure. In fact, LOCOG will work to remove invasive scrub areas at the Donkey Green and Zig-Zag Road sections of Box Hill to ensure that chalk grassland can flourish again to support more biodiversity.

The route starts and ends at the Mall in London. The course heads southwest through the North Downs where the riders will encounter Box Hill. The men will tackle the Box Hill loop eight times on July 28 and the women twice on July 29.