Police saving grace for GVC

GUERNSEY cycling is avoiding the crisis affecting UK road racing and that's down to our understanding police.

Gary Wallbridge, president of the Guernsey Velo Club, said the lack of public road access that is badly hampering cycling on the mainland is not such an issue over here.

Since riding on a crest of a wave after the Beijing Olympics, where cycling was Great Britain's success story with eight gold medals, the sport says that police and local authorities are making life difficult for them by curbing racing on public roads.

But, in contrast, said Wallbridge, the local force is sympathetic to cycling.

'They are very good and very supportive of what we do,' he said.

'We have regular meetings. We understand that we share the roads with everybody and we're also very conscious of how quickly we can lose the respect of the police if we organise our events irresponsibly.'

But in the UK police are increasingly asking race organisers to pay for roads to be closed if they want to use public highways and for marshalling. It has seen events cancelled at short notice and it has become a matter of urgency for UK Sport.