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Tour of Britain Marshal experience

Back in September, I received an email from the Tour of Britain organisers.  I was on their email list as I competed in last years Tour of Britain Prostate Charity Sportive and raised over £500, due to some very charitable people!  The email said that the Tour was looking for volunteers to become marshals for various stages in the Tour at various points. So I thought, why not give something back to cycling?

Marshalling is a very important role but to be honest, it's not something I have ever been involved in. The day started with an early rise and I drove into Exeter at around 7.45am - the traffic was suprisingly quiet. I made my way to the start at Cathedral Yard and round to the podium to meet the organisers. Whilst waiting I got chatting to others who had also volunteered and was suprised that they had come from as far away as Axminster! Many of them had volunteered for previous events and found it rewarding and had decided to do it again.

Our roles were varied but mostly we were asked (after getting our Florescent TOB tabards) to be course marshals, but depending on which stage you enter the other duties included: 
Spectator Surveying, Spectator Liaisons, parking marshals, security marshals and general helpers.

I managed to station myself at the start, next to the VIP enclosure and luckily had full view of the sign-on stage. Through the next hour the numbers of spectators grew but without any problems. Eveyone was happy and enjoying the buzzing atmosphere.

The teams then arrived bit by bit to sign on with the high profile riders being interviewed about their previous day and their thoughts on the climbs around Dartmoor coming up! Lars Boom with his Gold Jersey was up first with a few words about his previous wins.

Thor Hushovd of Team Garmin-Cervelo.

Ben Swift from Team Sky.

Mark Cavendish of Team HTC Highroad.

Little time was left after sign on with the motorbike outriders and support vehicles already lined up out of sight, and the time keepers car and neutral service car moving off. All of a sudden a countdown began, and then the whole group accelerated over the cobbles of the Cathedral Yard road and the wind lapped my ears as the riders passed within inches of us.

They sped off like a freight train down the road out of sight followed by the last neutral service car. The air was buzzing with chatter and music but this died down minutes after the last rider left. The packing up then began in earnest and we were required to stop the lead out being blocked by spectators moving off, so that the lorries could come back in to collect the equipment and barriers.

We were relieved of duty at around 10.30 and were given a little goody bag, containing good old Soreen and a nice 2010 TOB DVD amongst other things. But I left with a warm feeling of doing a charitable deed as I made my way to the car to meet my wife on our way down to the finish at Exmouth.

My wife, on the otherhand, was just down the road from our house at Haytor Rocks in Dartmoor with some friends to see the riders coming up the 2 miles (avg 12%) King of the Mountains stage 1. Johnathon Tiernan-Locke (a local MDCC rider from Plymouth) made a break for the 1st KOM and led, winning it by about 30s (and won all three in the stage)!

Some grinding and tortured faces were evident from her photos, and having ridden the hill (on a race bike and an MTB) I know exactly how they feel, especially the last part of the climb up to the car park as it is at its steepest and your lungs are burning!

We winged it down to Exmouth squashed into one car with a dog and parked in an open field opened up by the Council (with accomapnying Traffic Wardens), but we arrived in plenty of time to absorb the atmosphere on the esplanade. There were a huge number of people with bike stands and other market stalls on the promenade. A few kids races were held on the home straight until word came through that the peleton was now together after being split for some time around Moretonhampsted.

We waited in anticipation and I got my camera ready and set to burst mode, holding it over the thick layer of spectators in front of me. They came through like a bullet and all was blurred but we had witnessed "good sportsmanship" as Mark Cavendish let Mark Renshaw cross the line first, giving him the stage win!

Mark Renshaw of Team HTC Highroad on the Stage win podium.

Pieter Ghyllebert of Team Post - Sean Kelly winning the sprint category.

Jonathan Tiernan Locke of Team Rapha Condor - Sharp winning the KOM.

Geraint Thomas of Team Sky ProCycling overall points winner.

Lars Boom of Team Rabobank with the IG Markets Gold Jersey taking overall winner.

We had a great day, well organised and the weather was perfect - a great end to a great day and well worth a bit of an early rise to help out. Maybe we should all volunteer to marshall now and again?

I look forward to the remaining stages of the TOB: www.tourofbritain.com

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