Why over look big venues like Wales etc? Lord knows a lot of useful money has already been "stolen "from other worthwhile sporting events and sporting centres just so London can show off. It should be celebrated as Britians games,seeing as the athletes come from all over the UK.Why cant the Idiots at the games committee use better and bedded in venues Like Wales (I live in Scotland by the way).Why do they see the need to build a flat course in one of the flattest parts of the UK?When there are far better alternatives,which already exist?

How short sighted!!!! Lets pretend the quality of our mountain biking is really bad and that the UK has no challenging terrain and then show how it to the world!!!

Someone should be sacked!

I'm sure that a suitable course could be sorted out around Leith Hill in Surrey, Not that much further away from london than Essex.

Its realy very simple - it has to be Englandshire - as usual where London is concerned the rest of the United Kingdom is 2nd class. Britains Games - rubbish - its Londons Games. With that biggoted attitude I wont be supporting them.

Why not just call it cyclocross? No disrespect to cyclocross, it's a great sport, but it isn't MOUNTAINbiking.

The gold medal in this one isn't going to get any respect.

So poor old Essex needs the money does it, maybe Jammie Oliver could run the Olympics a few free barbacues eh?

Well I live in a county with a history of running Mountain Bike championships and also recently wanting to close 22 village primary schools, Shropshire is the place and Eastridge is the venue.

My heart goes out to poor old stockbroker ridden Essex in that underdeveloped part of the country.

Its totally stupid. But I'm not that bothered in the end, the Olympics, the UCI and all the other bodies mean nothing to me or my riding

The sailing's in Dorset. A great partner and very close to London, obviously.

Hold it in the Peaks, Lakes, the hilly bits of Scotland or Wales (imagine using Snowdon for an XC race- it's the Olympics, they might as well go all out!). They hold the World Cup in Fort Bill for crying out loud, and it's been voted best round on the circuit for years.

If British Cycling had got on the case quicker, then maybe something proper could be done. BC have shown once again that they're massively out of touch with the mountain biking segment of the sport and that they don't really care what happens to it provided road cycling keeps on being a big money spinner.

Well there's a surprise. Just strange that haven't proposed somewhere WITHIN London. The Olympics is of course only FOR London. Like most other expenditure in the UK (remind me again, what does the "U" stand for?).

Oooh Ron Stuart, bitter man....

Interesting that a response to a mountain biking question results in some kind of anti-stockbroker / wealth, etc type rant. Draw a map of revenues / earnings vs geography and see where Shropshire comes.

Apologies we that work in london and live in Essex can afford it. Try harder in school buddy.

Still, back to the subject this is meant to be about.

Essex County Council has done themselves no favours. There is a complete lack of interest in any kind of pro-cycling policy. No question, Weald is too flat and not technical enough to hold a championship event.

Essex cannot even sustain a decent bridleway network and there are zero trail areas worth more than a 20 minute journey.

Epping Forest is fun but in no way a sporting venue.

Outreaching this to the dales, peaks, wales, etc would be absolutely great in my opinion.

May also encourage the council to pull their finger out and sort out some cycling provision for the county that isn't a cycle path in a town centre.

Erm am I missing something here? If you want mountain biking in Wales or Scotland a Welsh or Scottish city would have to put in a successful bid for the Olympics. You've got your own parliaments and had your subsidies now stop bitching about England not sharing! I agree Essex isn't ideal though and would be far happier if it were to be staged much further north. By the way I leave in Surrey, I'm not wealthy, I'm not a banker and I don't walk on pavements of gold!

What's all the fuss about? I can't see why the rest of the UK should get a boost from the Olympics, it's us Londoner's who are paying the extra on our council tax to pay for the damned event anyway!!!

I will admit that Essex will be a rubbish venue, I used to live there and agree it's far too flat.

I just don't see why the rest of the UK feels they have a right to the games when it's us in the south who are blatantly paying for them. If you fancy adding an extra lump on your council tax, then maybe you should write to your council and tell them. Then and only then will you have a right to moan about it.

How can the 2012 MTB olympic champion be proud of his/her medal for riding around a flat course in Essex? Also isn't the olympics suppose to be a spectacle - riding round a flat circuit is not good for the atheletes or the spectators - completely uninspiring.

Come on officials / organisers - find a location and design a course that will provide the racing that everyone wants!

Wales, cwmcarn area. that'll get their legs working. certainly somewhere with proper hills.

My dear ADAMP/BATCH78/KKJA0491,

If you read properly Mark Appelton's editoral at the head of this artical you will notice that it drew a comparison between Essex's wealth and it's mediocrity of it's mountain biking and it was within the same article, and I shall quote "the study quantified the potential economic benefit for county at £139m".

I was simply agreeing with the observations and echoing them, so why don't you have a pop at his article then? Oh and while your at it have a moan at the organisers for wasting your hard earnt money on putting the sailing on at Weymouth after all the National Dingy Sailing champion of champions event the "Endeavour Throphy" is held each year at Burnham-on-Crouch in yes you guessed it Essex, I know as I have taken part in it.

So less of the knee-jerk reaction and think at a little longer before the utter.

Ron Stuart,

As shown by your stockbroker pop, economics / business isn't a strong point, is it?

The reason your whinge made us fed up is that you starting harping on about schools closing in a bike article

The reference to money entering the area refers to extra business related to the event, so hotels, catering, increased tourism, cash filtering to local stores, etc.

Even if they ran the 100 metres through one of your village schools, you would not suddenly find that no schools closed.

Sorry buddy, it don't work like that. We're rich as a county because we are near the capital and the money flows our way. The LONDON Olympics clearly wants events near LONDON even if due to our capital not being right by good sailing water, the row boats have to be on the south coast

I agree Essex is pathetic for MOUNTAIN biking, but I am so glad you're boosting our tourist economy by promoting our sailing.

Personally, it's a London event and it's bad enough that it's all round Stratford so my commute is knackered for a fair while.

Shift the mountain biking to wales / dales / peaks / wherever.

Just don't confuse having a jealous dig at the prosperous south with a bike comment.

Bleeding heart liberals....

It was a wise man who said, "you know your winning the argument when they start being personal against you"

Have any of you actually riden in Epping Forest? Admittedly it isn't the toughtest when it comes to climbs but who wants to do a XC race where you have be accompanied by a sherpa carry an oxygen tank, emergency rescue equipment. and need 140ml of travel to come back down. Not only that I wouldn't want to xc race across some moors where I might be attacked by a recently released panther or hybrid sabre tooth tiger and sink into some sort jurassic peat bog. Epping has some absolutley quality tight and demanding single track that would test the skill of any rider especially when it comes to overtaking its broken up by firetrack and bridle path for spectators has its fair share of bomb holes and nasty roots and against popular belief has some 'albeit short' but very demanding and technical climbsn. Theres more than enough space as well as I've do 6 hours in there. The main issue I would see is parking - god knows where everybody would go but then seeing as its so close to London you can ride there and if you are visiting you can literally catch a Central line tube to the edge.

Twisty singletrack is great but it's not enough is it?

It's got to be South Wales hasn't it really? Less than 3 hours from London...got a few hills. Probably Scotland would be better but I guess that aint going to happen either..

Lake District? Wales? Hell if your desprite why not Scotland? No fun just riding flat land and not worth the effort either.

The London Olympics. Its going to be a 3 week flash in the pan. Innit?

Its a corporate land-grab right now, but the 'sport' side of things are going to be over quicker than you can say 'Sir Seb Coe'.

carbonfiend -although a well put togethr argument , and one that i have neither the personal experience nor ability to disprove, I must say that your description of xc mountain biking from your own personal experience seems to miss the general point that olmpiads are pushing themselves beyond the physical limits of us mere mortals.

they race where we would need an oxygen tank, and put 140 mil travel through trails tat would make manufaturers weep tears of joy.

and please bear this is mind as a comparison to epping forest: Partnitha, the greek village situated in the national park where the last 2004 mountain bike olympic course was is a mountain range with an elevation of 1,413m.

that is the level these guys push themsleves to. now you have to ask yourself will essex, with less than 200 meters of elevation be satisfying to the worlds greatest xc mountain bikers?

Get real - seb coe you are a muppet - come to Wales and save all the cash that you don't really have anyway and use what's already there - one of the best MTB venues in the World! Afan rocks!

why are we all up in arms,seb coe has lied from the start.the xc race is a poor second as to what really matters,millions creamed of the lottery to line the pockets of afew.you would have to be a total moron to believe any legacy will be left behind after the games,and do you think the land owner is going to pay for any upkeep of the trails?I think not. if the race mattered we wouldn`t be having this conversation.its not track and field so as far as seb is concerned it can do with what it gets and be bloody thankful for that,any way its to late to change venue,essex council is already spending the money it was promised.why would we hold it at a proper mtb site any way,people would turn out to watch it and we wouldn`t` won`t the educated people of the southeast mixing with the unwashed masses ps next years downhill world cup to be held in holland

Strikes me Essex County Council were never going to let this oportunity pass from their hands and would have created a whole mountain with JCB's had they had to!

So taking that decision specificaly to host it at Hadleigh Farm ,who is to say this will only ever be a temporary facility? There are no gurantees in this instance of a permanent legacy of open access. Does this not run somewhat contrary to ODA legacy policy and makes the decision look like something of a knee jerk reaction to the dropping of Weald Park and the political pressure therein.

From a cycling perspective too Its on clay soils so highly weather dependant and not all year round free draining. If anyone is familiar with the Chilterns they would know what I mean!

Seems obvious to me but I have never heard Rowney Warren in Bedfordshire mentioned yet it has won Olymic training status for 2012. Ii is also 1 hour from London, set in beautiful rolling pine forest, within the Olympic height limit, long establised XC trails and North shore (the latter a little carved up by last winters logging but healing fine)

Its beautifully dry, free draining, year round facilty with lots and lots of tough hill climbs easily equivalent to Hadleigh Farm.

Add to that excellent access via the A1, rail links, public parking etc. Would be great to know it was at least considered if they had set their hearts on the SE and a site in close proximity to London.

Dom.