Great Britain's Bradley Wiggins will be among the competitors in the men's road race tomorrow. Picture: PA Wire

London 2012: First road events of Olympic Games take place at weekend

Sarah Shaffi, Olympics editor (news) Friday, July 27, 2012
6:12 PM

The first road events for the London 2012 Olympic Games get underway tomorrow, with Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins among the competitors.

Londoners are being advised to plan their travel, as large crowds are expected to the line the streets of London and Surrey tomorrow to support Wiggins and his teammates Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish as they aim to land Team GB’s first gold medal of the Games.

The men’s cycling road race is the first of the London 2012 Games road events, all of which will see temporary road closures and parking restrictions.

Viewing capacity in central London will be very limited. The women’s cycling road race takes place on Sunday along the same route as the men’s.

London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: “As well as it being the first of the road events, which will see Bradley Wiggins and Team GB cycling through London and Surrey, other Olympic events will get underway in the capital.

“Public transport will be exceptionally busy tomorrow as people make their way to watch the cycling and to the venues.

“Millions of Londoners have already planned their journeys at GetAheadoftheGames.com but for anyone who hasn’t already done so, I would encourage them to do this and make sure they leave extra time for any journeys.”

Transport for London (TfL) is advising spectators to arrive early, be prepared to wait for several hours and think carefully about bringing small children.

People are also asked to try and stay local and watch the race at a location close to them, instead of travelling to see it.

The cycle road races start and finish in the Mall via Fulham, Putney, Richmond, Hampton Court, Kingston and parts of Surrey.