SPECTATOR SPORT

You’ve booked your time off work as the Tour of Britain rolls through your hometown, so here are our tips to get the best views…

01 THE RACE

When the race arrives you’ll have about 10 seconds to soak up what you’ve waited maybe five hours to see. Your heroes will flash by, even on the steepest inclines, at speeds you would not have imagined possible, so be ready. Will you take photos or use your eyes? Will you shout and scream, wave a sign or do you have other ideas? Although it’s perfectly acceptable to wave a flag or banner, scream and shout, here are a few no-nos:

ADon’t run alongside the riders, especially in your underwear. Give the riders space to race, it’s not about you. You look like an idiot and the riders hate it.

BDon’t let off flares. No rider wants to be breathing in thick red smoke at the top of a tough climb. You may be excited, it may look cool, but seriously, think of the riders’ lungs.

CDon’t push. Under no circumstances whatsoever does anyone touch the riders. No shoving, pushing or touching of any type, they don’t want it and they don’t need it, oh and it’s against the rules.

DDon’t throw water. You’ve watched the Tour de France on TV and seen people pouring bottles of water down the necks of riders and thought they must like this, so you’re thinking of doing the same. Don’t. Feel free to offer them water and they may suggest you pour it over them but never presume this is the case. They may be minutes away from plunging down a long descent; you try that in soaking wet Lycra and see how it feels.

02 HOW TO PICK YOUR SPOT

The key things to consider when choosing where to base yourself.

AYou want to see the moment the winning move is made, where the decisive blow is applied so you ideally want to be on the last climb of the day, the one that’s guaranteed to entertain.

BPosition yourself at such a point where you can see the riders approach for the longest

03 PLAN AHEAD

Planning is essential, study the route and most importantly, the climbs. On most stages you will have a single chance to amount of time, ideally with views down the valley combined with an excellent line of sight when the riders get close.

CChoosing which side of the road to stand on is equally important, look at the camber, imagine the racing line. If you want to get really close to the action, work out which side of the road the riders are likely to ride.

DFor photobombing purposes, more on that later, place yourself next to a prominent route marker like a kilometre to go banner, which will maximise your chance of exposure in the media during and after the event. see the action so where you choose must be the best vantage point the race offers. Once you have picked a spot consider your approach and exit to the race. Try and arrive from a direction that does not interfere with the day’s parcours to avoid your plans being derailed by a road closure, and they will close earlier than you expect.

04 WAITING GAME

The tension builds to the arrival of the race. The road becomes eerily silent, it’s empty tarmac occasionally punctuated by the odd police motorbike or media car. As their frequency increases you know the race will be getting closer and the signal that it will be imminently upon you is the sound of helicopter blades in the sky. The helicopters film the race and also relay signals back to satellites hovering above the action all day long. With that the race is on, and you can taste the excitement.

“For photobombing purposes, place yourself next to a prominent marker to maximise your chance of exposure in the media”

[ 05 ] TAKE YOUR BIKE

Never drive up a mountain or hill before a bike race, it may seem like a good idea, but hours later when you’re still stuck in traffic trying to get off said mountain or hill you won’t feel so clever. Park as far from the route as is feasible and continue on two wheels. Chances are the verges will already be filling up so don’t be surprised if the excitable, enthusiastic crowd offer you the same support as they will their idols. One

06 PACK SMART

If you’re heading to spectate on a hill, it will be a long day, so pack well. Warm clothes are essential. After your effort to ride up you’ll be dripping with sweat and, no matter how warm the day, you’ll get cold at a higher altitude or on an exposed hillside. Pack some food and drink, make sure your phone is fully charged and has plenty of data to keep you informed. A few other essentials include chalk to write on the road, a flag or banner to wave so your relatives can spot you on TV and a multi-tool to cut a race sign off a lamp post after the event!

07 LE AVE NO TR ACE

Once a race has passed over a climb it will become hallowed ground. In the immediate weeks, months and even years to come all riders passing over the same tarmac will see under their wheels the gradually fading (depending on which medium is used) names of their heroes. This fading paint will spur you on while training and inform visiting riders that, yes, this is a serious climb, it was used in a big race, so leave the names on the road, but bag up and take away all others traces of your visit. thing to note, as you ride the climb make it look comfortable – no one likes a show off, you’re not in the race so don’t pretend you are. Ride as hard as you can without actually showing any signs of physical exertion. Internalise your pain to give the impression that you are just twiddling up when inside you are turning yourself inside out. Once out of sight you can gasp for air and collapse on the ground.

08 PHOTO OPS

Nowadays we photograph everything so to not get a picture of your encounter with the race would be unthinkable. Trying to take photos while waving a sign, and spotting your favourite rider to scream some patronising advice at them, more than likely results in just getting the picture of some handlebars or a flash of their backside. Modern technology does help and if you practice beforehand, and can hold your phone in a suitable position you can fire away while not taking your eye off the action. Hopefully you’ll get that one killer shot.

09 PHOTO BOMBING

As long as you don’t interfere with the action there’s nothing wrong with a bit of photobombing, after all if it’s not on social media and so on, did it really happen? When you see the race approach, locate the camera bike, is it pointing forwards following the riders, or is it pointing backwards in front of the riders? Is it on the left or the right of the road? Keep one eye on the action you have waited all day to witness but the other on making sure whatever is in your hand is positioned correctly for maximum exposure.

“Ride as hard as you can without actually showing any signs of physical exertion”