RECENT COMMENTS

Bike races start Saturday, get to Church Hill next Thursday

The first training runs for the World Road Cycling Championships will start in the city on September 19, with the Men’s Elite Road Circuit race on Sunday, September 27, the final event.

The Worlds will feature 12 championship races for Elite Men and Women, Under 23 Men and Junior Men and Women. The athletes will be competing for their country, as during the Olympics, in three different disciplines including the traditional Road Race, the Individual Time Trial and the recently introduced Team Time Trial. World Champions are crowned in each discipline.

There will be four different routes in use over the 12 days. The Road Race Circuit is the route that comes our way – it will send riders east down Canal Street, up through Libby Hill and Church Hill, and then screaming down Broad Street and into Shockoe. This 16km route will be in use for 4 days (Thurs-Sunday), and will be used for 3 men’s races, 2 women’s races, and a public ride. Each race will loop the course between 5 and 16 times.

Main Street by Poe’s Pub, Libby Hill, the 23rd Street Hill, and Broad Street heading down to 18th Street will all be great places to see the race on days that the route comes up our way.

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While the majority of the courses will be open and free for all spectators, there will be a ticketed Fan Zone in Libby Hill during the Road Circuit races with “deluxe catering with beverage service, including beer and wine, TV Monitors with LIVE feed of all of the races” for $250-475.

Paul Shanks, Director of Communications & Digital Marketing for Richmond 2015, says “The majority of Libby Hill will be open to the public including a beer garden and jumbotron showing the race live.”

The event is expected to bring 450,000 spectators from all over the world to Richmond over its 8-day run, with Libby Hill perhaps the premier viewing spot in the city. The races will broadcast worldwide on tv and online at richmond2015.com.

Volunteers from the Church Hill Association will be passing out neighborhood guides at several stations throughout the race area, and hopefully our Welcome to Church Hill guide will be useful.

Expect parking restrictions within at least a block of the route and travel difficulties in the general area. Get familiar with the MLK Bridge and the interstate entrances on Mechanicsville and Nine Mile.

Want to volunteer during the races? SIGN UP HERE

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THURSDAY 9/24

• Road Circuit Training | 10 AM – noon
• Conquer the Cobbles Run | 7 PM – 9 PM

FRIDAY 9/25

• Women’s Junior Road Circuit | 10 AM – 11:50 PM
• Men’s Under 23 Road Circuit | 12:45 PM – 4:50 PM
• Conquer the Cobbles Ride | 7 PM – 9 PM

SATURDAY 9/26

• Men’s Junior Road Circuit | 9 AM – 12:15 PM
• Women’s Elite Road Circuit | 1 PM – 4:25 PM

SUNDAY 9/27

• Men’s Elite Road Circuit | 9 AM – 3:40 PM

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