hokie cycler

It depends on the race. I work one block off the course and have ridden many parts of it. Here's my take:

Team Time Trial:
There area several locations where you would get to see them coming in both direction which might be cool. Downtown on Main Street they will be going down hill on a straight newly paved street so they will be flying and it's near the beginning so you are likely to see teams still intact. The corner of Main and 13th/Governor Street will be good as you can see them make the turn onto the final climb. Be on the north side of Main and the west side of Governor for the best vantage point.
Another good location is Rockett's Landing east of down town. Again you will see them coming both ways and with the skyline and the river in the background, it will be beautiful.
Time Trials (minus Elite Men)
Monument Avenue is a good spot. The belgian block road, monuments and the grand homes will make this a scenic spot. Another good one would be Broad and Governor's Street. You'll see them come off the final climb and turn and burn down Broad. There are many food carts that set up every day one block away on Marshall Street so you have easy access to food.
Men's Elite Time Trial
This is a long course down from Kings Dominion and the side of the road anywhere will be a ho hum view. Two thoughts here, go to the start line which will be a bit of a drive but should have plenty of parking or try and get a spot at the finish line. This course has changed slightly from what is on the website and they will be turning off Boulevard onto Monument Avenue, so Monument is another option as well as the top or bottom of Governor's Street.
Road Races
So the spot everyone will be vying for is Libby Hill for the Men's Elite Road Race. Supposedly there will be a jumbotron there so you can watch the entire race. That's where I am going. Great view and the collegiate race last spring was awesome there. 23rd Street will be something worth seeing so I would try and get there for the juniors or Elite Women. The climb up Governor's Street will be your best chance to see someone separate themselves on the final lap so I would go there for at least one of the road races. That will also be prime viewing for the Elite Men.

My advice is to make sure you get out and see many different areas of the city. If you are coming for the entire week, do not miss Monument Avenue, especially Lee Circle and the Libby Hill and 23rd Street cobbled climbs. 23rd Street has had its cobbles restored and looks great. That is one beast of a climb, with the cobbles if you stand on the pedals, you could spin your rear wheel so it will be interesting to see how the pros tackle it.

I hope you enjoy Richmond!

Less than 50 days to go!

jyl

Thank you very very much!

I'm using Airbnb, but if anyone has a place for rent, or has friends renting their places, I'd be interested in that. Either just me, or my riding buddy may come too, flying from Portland OR, looking for a three day stay. I'm on the PMs here.

WCroadie

Thanks Hokie! I'llbe down Fri - Sun, I got a room at the Wyndam which I believe is abt 12mi away for ~$165 total, one of my buddies is coming down with me, I cannot wait!

seypat

For those coming from the north avoid 95 from DC if you can. Get on Rt. 301 in Maryland and stay on it until you are close to Fredericksburg. Once there go over 95 to see if it is still congested. If not, then get on. If still congested, hop on to Rt. 1 till the Richmond outskirts.

hokie cycler

The website has been updated with an interactive map showing where to watch on each day. See the link below. Scroll through each days racing to see where the fan areas and bike valets will be.Where to Watch ? Opening Ceremony | Navigate the Worlds

DropBarFan

Bike valets are a classy touch! I'd recommend for fans to consider taking a plastic milk crate--if crowds are thick than one can stand on the milk crate & easily see the course over other folks' heads. & milk crates are ez to carry atop a rear rack. In Montreal '74 there was a lot of climbing so it was easy to get a good viewing spot until the final couple of laps--finish line area was swamped & I couldn't see the racers at all until the podium ceremony.

BamaBulldawg

I'll be there. Renting a room from a colleagues friend on Hanover. Wed-Mon, driving up from Birmingham. ALSO, at the Courtyard Airport Marriott I have a room booked for Wed-Sun I will be canceling closer to time. If a bike forum member wants it I would be happy to give it up closer to time.

I booked the Courtyard last October and recently reached out to a coworker in Richmond who said I'd rather be closer and hooked me up with a friend of his renting a room in their Row house. Took them up on the offer but kept the Courtyard Marriott room for insurance.

Also, a brand new hotel will be opening in time for the race Hotels in Richmond | Quirk Hotel | Richmond VA Hotels

valleyrider

You Richmond locals, any pubs or bars on the road circuit route that will be broadcasting the race inside? I think it would be neat to be able to watch the race inside and be able to jump out and watch them ride by. 23rd & Main any good, or something else in Old City?

hokie cycler

There's Poe's Pub at the base of Libbie Hill. Libbie Hill will have a jumbotron for the road races so you will be able to watch without running back into a bar.

spec84

Same here. Its the only pro event even remotely close to my location. If only they still held the Tour De Georgia...

DropBarFan

Yes, it seems that locus of US int'l pro racing has moved back west. East coast/mid-Atlantic used to get some primo races like Tour of America/Tour de Trump/Tour duPont; Baltimore had an awesome Euro-style crit race for a couple of years. Philly race used to attract some top teams.

Richmond Worlds will be awesome, in 1-day races the pros go all out...in '76 Montreal it was amazing to see top pros turning themselves inside-out just to support their national teams. & Richmond seems like the only pro World's course I can remember that's set up for a sprint finish. Richmond has the best NASCAR track so I'm confident that World's race organizers/course designers will have designed a course that at least winnows down the field for a suspenseful finish.

spec84

Ok I have a real newb question here. Does these races require any kind of tickets? I never been to a pro cycling event. Also, can someone recommend a nice hotel?

DropBarFan

Website says that some hospitality areas/grandstands will require admission fee but most areas will be free. The course map doesn't seem to show layout of grandstands, could be that much of area around finish line is blocked off to regular spectators by grandstands/press/officials stuff. At Montreal it was like that, very hard to see riders cross the finish line. Secret weapon is to carry a milk crate, easy to stand on & gives one a good view even if behind other spectators. Of course that's assuming bleachers aren't blocking the view.

spec84

So don't forget the milk crate, gotcha! Are there plenty of exhibits/vendors at events like this so I don't end up getting bored? Watching the USA Pro Challenge looked like a blast. It really looked like a big party.

hokie cycler

There will be a Fan Fest expo near the start finish line. The links below will help you.

Navigate the Worlds | Navigate the Worlds

https://richmond2015.com/fanfest/

spec84

165??? Can you please direct me to the cheap hotels? Just about every area hotel I look into ends up being insanely expensive.

hokie cycler

Keep trying.

https://www.expedia.com/Hotel-Search...F2015&adults=2

Wyndham Virginia Crossings has a room for $146 and that is a very nice place.

Plus rumor has it one high profile trade team and a national team are staying there so you might be able to see a former world champion walking about.

RoadHolland

definitely go see this exhibit on 140 years of Cycling in Richmond when you are there....


In Gear: Richmond Cycles opens at The Valentine - Road Holland Cycling Apparel and Accessories

cmschmie

If I get to go I will just drive up on Sunday morning. It's ~3 hours from my house. Just gotta work out someone to watch my son since the wife is working.

If I can't go to the Worlds, at least I'll have the US Championships in 2016 and 2017. Winston-Salem is only 30 minutes away.

spec84

Nice looking place, thanks. I'm just trying to decide if I want to plop down the extra cash and stay downtown, closer to the course(where I can walk back to my room) or get something cheaper outside of town. How important is it to stay near the race course?

hokie cycler

Downtown would be ideal because you will be able to do more sightseeing during down time without having to drive. The extended stay hotel near Glenside and Broad is an easy 10-15 minute drive into town. Staying downtown there are more and better restaurants that you could walk to depending on where you stay.

Athens80

Zwift is in Richmond this week. Their first course after Watopia is the Richmond Worlds course.

Zwift is a computer application allowing you to use an indoor trainer to virtually ride with other cyclists on the internet. It's in beta with no fees now.

It's a nice application. It's especially interesting this month because you'll ride a video game-like simulation of the Richmond course.

spec84

Thanks Hokie, yea I plan on doing a lot of sightseeing. It looks like Richmond has a plethora of antebellum/civil war monuments and memorials, can't wait!

DropBarFan

I wonder about ease of driving into Richmond on Sunday--I would want to wake up pre-dawn to avoid traffic. If one takes a bike along in car, one could park some ways away from downtown & ride the rest of the way. Designated satellite parking area is at City Stadium but must be reserved. Race organizers put forth some rather large projected attendance figures, hard to tell if they're realistic or not. Ordinarily, AFAIK, Richmond traffic is not too awful, but with road closings it might get slow in spots. In Montreal there was a huge # of spectators, I stayed at a youth hostel not far from the course. For Richmond I'm thinking about camping at Pocahontas State Park, about 32 km away from downtown, hopefully there will be decent roads to cycle in on.

A plus for Richmond2015 is that hopefully weather will be nice; avgs are comfortably warm but not scorching. Colorado Worlds had some really chilly (& rainy IIRC) weather. Once went to Richmond to see Tour of America in April, weather was cool & rainy--after a stage I stopped at a hotel lobby in downtown Richmond where some teams were staying: a skinny Danish rider was shivering uncontrollably (everyone wore short-sleeve jerseys/no tights) & I marveled that southern US weather could actually put a hurt on a Scandinavian. So take a rain jacket, September can bring in showery conditions.

spec84

Please don't say the R word, don't even think about it I think you're right though about the crowds because I just booked a downtown hotel and almost every single one was sold out. I guess I underestimated how many folks would be attending.