It's September, so it must be Tour of Britain time again, and in my opinion the 2009 event was the best yet. Some towns we had visited before but there were also new venues which gave the race a certain freshness. As for the last few years, my old friend Kannan worked with me. He was in Europe for five weeks and also worked with Séamus on the Tour of Ireland before trotting off to Italy and Spain then spending a week with us in Lancashire before the Tour.

I took Kannan to Hull on the Thursday then drove home before going out again the following day to our hotel in York. Stage 1 would finish there on Saturday. We would once again have the usual team which has worked well together for many years - Séamus was on hand to produce the comprehensive results service, and Trevor Hughes continued in his Chief Judge role.

After some dodgy weather in the weeks before the race, the sun decided to make an appearance in Kannan's honour. York was decidedly hot and the location of the finish alongside a large grassy area was superb. The council had laid on a great day of support events and we attracted a very large crowd.

 

We all had to park on the grass as well, so it's a good job the weather was good. I dread to think what it would have been like with all the vans bogged down!

 

If you saw any of the racing on TV you might have noticed a nice neat barrier line down the finishing straight. Normally, barriers are a little bit ragged and the feet stick out in the road just to trap the unwary riders. The organisation had collaborated with a company called Betafence to produce a new style of barrier which sloped back and had the advertising boards slotted in. They also had telescopic legs which allowed the barrier to go over kerbs whilst keeping the barrier line straight.

 

The two images above show the barriers in more detail. They really did look very good.

 

Our equipment setup was similar to previous years, but with one fundamental difference. Just as in the Tour Series earlier in the season, we used the new IdentiLynx video camera in addition to the usual two photofinish cameras. The latter cameras were networked just like we have done before and the video was connected as a stand-alone into another laptop. The arrangement worked well and Trevor detailed one of his judges to sit in front of the video to help with any problems. It certainly speeded up the whole job and enabled the result to be put together a bit quicker. As usual, Séamus connected into my network so that I could send him the Lynx result file.

 

Most of the televised races I have done over the years had the TV production done by Venner Television. On recent events the organisers seem to have transferred to Century TV. I always try to make the photofinish pictures available to the broadcaster because not only does it enhance the programme a bit but it keeps us in the spotlight. On this year's Tour I tried a new method of getting the images to them instead of relying on someone to turn up with a memory stick. After each race finish I emailed the picture to the production assistant and let them decide whether it was worth showing. Unfortunately we never had a really close sprint and the only one they used was one of the intermediate sprints in London on the final day.

 

Here's a few pictures from the banks of the River Tyne (below). We were there last year and it really is a good spot although the run-in for the riders was a bit tricky. The usual early start meant an opportunity for some different pics while I waited to unload my kit, and the promotion area across the road was its' usual busy and colourful self.

The vehicles on the Tour always look good. No Movico again (they probably cost too much) but the ones we had this year were just as impressive. Top left in the block of four pictures below was the TV scanner. This was where the evening television program was edited and transmitted from and from where Hugh Porter and Anthony McCrossan provided a live commentary. On the right of this picture is our unit - OK, not quite as impressive but very functional. This year we worked on the bottom whilst the commentators were on top. Bottom left shows the Media Centre. This great looking unit was from Eventmaker, a new company on the Tour. They also supplied the hospitality unit and collaborated with the organisation on the Tour Series. An inside view of the same vehicle is on the right.

 

Now then. I simply love Scotland. The trouble is that we never seem to go very far into the country. This year we were only just over the border at Gretna Green and were faced with a very long drive from the hotel to the finish area. I'm only joking - the finish was right outside the hotel and my bedroom window looked right down the line. It could not have been more convenient. Did I ever tell you about when I actually did the photofinish on a race from a hotel bedroom window? It's a true story - remind me to tell you all about it. The following two pictures show the hotel.

 

 

I had told Kannan the story about Gretna Green and he seemed to spend the previous few days looking for someone to marry. When he did the usual tourist thing and went to the blacksmith's forge for a look round I thought it better not to accompany him! He came back with a ring on his finger so he must have struck lucky.

 

Mick Bennett and Hugh Porter went together and rumour has it that they did go through some sort of joke ceremony. At least I think it was a joke - wonder if Anita knows. I can't leave out the pictures of the forge and visitor centre (below).

 

Back in England, and we went to Blackpool once again. Not my idea of a fun town and I only go there if it's to a race. However the illuminations are impressive and I couldn't let the opportunity pass of including some images of them. It's a pity the small thumbnails below don't show all that much.

Probably my favourite town on this year's race was Bideford in north Devon. I had never been there before and was impressed both by the lovely scenery and the welcome we received. The local councils from Devon and Somerset had collaborated to capitalise on the race being in their region and all the schools seemed to have had the day off. It all made for a great atmosphere, and the Tour organisation let it be known later that the stage into Bideford was probably the best in the history of the race.

 

Starting off with a couple of very early morning shots with the mist slowly rising off the water, the following pics don't do justice to the location. And no - I have not mixed up the pictures with those from Scotland. They really do have their own pipe band.

I didn't know that Séamus was taking this picture (right), but I include it here because it is an 'action shot' and shows Chief Judge Trevor Hughes (nearest the camera) and myself agonising over the photofinish image. The laptop is in the middle and to the left is the large screen monitor which I have taken to using on this race. It makes it so much easier to get the final result. The small notebook near my right hand was online and I used it to email the pics to TV.

 

So, taking the week as a whole, did things go according to my cunning plan? The short answer is "No", but then they almost never do. I had the usual camera failure at one point early in the race, but we soon got it back and I put it down to a dicky ethernet cable. One of my tasks this winter will be to test all my cables and put new connectors on the suspect ones.

 

I also had a faulty Lynx capture button. I have never had one fail before so it came as a bit of a surprise. Fortunately I had a spare and we ran the rest of the week with that. On testing the faulty one it looks like the actual push button on the top which is goosed. Hope I can get a replacement for that without buying a new unit.

 

I started off by saying that this race was the best yet. For me personally it was also the hardest physically. Every year sees an increase in the amount of kit I use and this has to be unloaded each morning and packed away again in the afternoon. There are now three cameras, plus all the computers, monitors and cables etc., and don't forget the heavy tripod and ladders which are needed for the video.

 

Unloading is not much of a problem because I am on site early and can get the van right to where I need to. However our parking areas seem to be getting much further away and at the end of the stage there is not much chance of getting the vehicle close enough to make the packing away easy. Without help from Kannan and Séamus I think I would have been in real difficulty (not getting any younger, am I?). By the end of the week I was struggling to walk properly due to having to climb inside the towers with my ankles at odd angles on the steel framework.

 

I couldn't resist this picture (above) from the final stage in London. It was a great circuit and the finish was, as is usual these days, on Victoria Embankment. During the stage the river police decided to put in an appearance and we saw them drift downstream (or was it upstream?) a couple of dozen times. It must have taken a great deal of skill because the boat remained perpendicular to the embankment all the time. It could not have been a security issue, could it? I like to think they were cycling enthusiasts just out to see the race.

 

Here's the 'family photo' which every year seems to contain fewer people. No surprise then that there are only the three of us here.

 

Left to right:

 

Séamus

 

Kannan

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

....and Finally,

 

I'll finish with that man again. Kannan, pictured acting suspiciously with buttons in hand on Victoria Embankment in London. Perhaps he was the terrorist threat that brought out the river police.

 

When Kannan comes here he travels light with a rucksack on his back and another across his chest. I met him off the train in Manchester where he looked every inch a suicide bomber. Still, I suppose it's one way of getting a seat to himself! Kannan - stay off the tube.

 

Seen in the background of this picture is another old friend of many years, race timekeeper, John MacMillan. How he puts up with Trevor's Scottish jokes all day long is beyond me.