2012 London Olympics: closing fireworks@Olympic Stadium

 2012 London Olympics: the final set of fireworks@the Olympic stadium seen from SE23
(above and below)

2012 London Olympics: closing fireworks

First set of closing fireworks from near Tower Bridge
Also associated with The Thames Festival

Gherkin to the left (above and below)

Tower Bridge illuminated to the left

Olympic Stadium with lasers from SE23 

Star fireworks close to Strada Building, Elephant & Castle

Fireworks with Dawson Heights in foreground

 Fireworks around Tower Bridge on left hand side (above and below)

 Dawson Heights and Strada Building further on

London Winter Olympics: women and men's time trial

Men's road race on the big screen@Hyde Park

After the men and women's road races at the weekend today it is the women and men's time trial with the women's race run first. Both races are run on circuits based around Hampton Court. A pdf of the course can be downloaded from here. 

Women's race

The women will ride 29 kilometres about 18 miles with the first rider off at 12.30 then out 90 second intervals until Kristin Armstrong, the defending champion, is off last at 13.04.30. Unlike Beijing, which included a 305 metre the course is quite flat.  

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Kristin Armstrong (US) took gold with a time of with Emma Pooley (GB-silver), Karin Thürig (Sui – bronze), Jeanne Longo-Ciprelli (Fr) was fourth and Christine Thornburn (US) fifth. Armstrong's winning time for the 23.5K course was 34.51.72. Of these five only Armstrong and Pooley are riding this afternoon. Further 2008 details here.   

Women's start times 


Start time - race number - rider
12:30:00 - 24 - Clemilda Fernandes (Brazil)
12:31:30 - 23 - Pia Sundstedt (Finland)
12:33:00 - 22 - Liesbet De Vocht (Belgium)
12:34:30 - 21 - Ashleigh Moolman (RSA)
12:36:00 - 20 - Audrey Cordon (France)
12:37:30 - 19 - Tatiana Antoshina (Russia)
12:39:00 - 18 - Elena Tchalykh (Azerbaijan)
12:40:30 - 17 - Tatiana Guderzo (Italy)
12:42:00 - 16 - Denise Ramsden (Canada)
12:43:30 - 15 - Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia)
12:45:00 - 14 - Emilia Fahlin (Sweden)
12:46:30 - 13 - Trixi Worrack (Germany)
12:48:00 - 12 - Noemi Cantele (Italy)
12:49:30 - 11 - Shara Gillow (Australia)
12:51:00 - 10 - Ellen Van Dijk (Netherlands)
12:52:30 - 9 - Elizabeth Armitstead (Great Britain)
12:54:00 - 8 - Emma Johansson (Sweden)
12:55:30 - 7 - Amber Neben (USA)
12:57:00 - 6 - Emma Pooley (Great Britain)
12:58:30 - 5 - Clara Hughes (Canada)
13:00:00 - 4 - Linda Villumsen (New Zealand)
13:01:30 - 3 - Marianne Vos (Netherlands)
13:03:00 - 2 - Judith Arndt (Germany)
13:04:30 - 1 - Kristin Armstrong (USA)

The men's race is over 44K (around 27.3 miles). It uses the women's course but with two additional loops. The first out in the direction of Molesley and the second up to Strawberry Hill. The first rider is off at 14.15 with 90 second gaps until Fabien Cancellara, the defending Olympic champion, sets off at 15.09. 

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics Cancellara took gold riding the 47.8K course in 1:2:11. Gustav Larsson (Swe) took silver, Levi Leipheimer (US) bronze while Alberto Contador was fourth and Cadel Evans fifth. Of these five only Cancellara and Larsson are riding this afternoon. More details of 2008 here. 

If Bradley Wiggins can repeat the form he showed in the two time trials  (Besançon and Chartres) in the Tour de France, then he should have a good chance of taking the gold. Much will depend upon Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara will recover from their recent injuries. Other riders to consider include Luis Leon Sanchez, Chris Froome, Taylor Phinney and Michael Rogers. Performances in the last time trial stage in the Tour de France won't necessarily be a guide as some riders with nothing to gain after three weeks racing won't have gone 100%. Today they will.        

 Men's start times


14:15:00:   Mouhcine Lahsaini (Morocco)  
14:16:30:   Tomas Aurelio Gil Martinez (Venezuela)
14:18:00:   Alireza Haghi (Islamic Republic of Iran)
14:19:30:   Ahmet Akdilek (Turkey) 
14:21:00:   Magno Prado Nazaret (Brazil)
14:22:30:   Fumiyuki Beppu (Japan) 
14:24:00:   Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan)
14:25:30:   David McCann (Ireland)
14:27:00:   Lars Ytting Bak (Denmark) 
14:28:30:   Michael Albasini (Switzerland)
14:30:00:   Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Colombia)
14:31:30:   Lars Boom (Netherlands)
14:33:00:   Jack Bauer (New Zealand)
14:34:30:   Janez Brajkovic (Slovenia)
14:36:00:   Maciej Bodnar (Poland) 
14:37:30:   Philippe Gilbert (Belgium) 
14:39:00:   Alexandr Vinokurov (Kazakhstan)
14:40:30:   Ryder Hesjedal (Canada)
14:42:00:   Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spain)
14:43:30:   Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) 
14:45:00:   Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Port)
14:46:30:   Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway) 
14:48:00:   Ramunas Navardauskas (Lithuania)
14:49:30    Denis Menchov (Russian Federation) 
14:51:00:   Lieuwe Westra (Netherlands) 
14:52:30:   Vasil Kiryienka (Belarus) 
14:54:00:   Gustav Larsson (Sweden) 
14:55:30:   Michael Rogers (Australia)
14:57:00:   Bert Grabsch (Germany) 
14:58:30:   Sylvain Chavanel (France) 
15:00:00:   Christopher Froome (Great Britain)
15:01:30:   Marco Pinotti (Italy)
15:03:00:   Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spain)
15:04:30:   Taylor Phinney (United States of America)
15:06:00:   Tony Martin (Germany)
15:07:30:   Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain)
15:09:00:   Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland)

Olympian weather and Boris' warning

Rain-pain!

After a few days of summer weather to lull visitors and, perhaps, Londoners too into a false sense of security today has seen a return to classic 2012 summer weather with some torrential downpours this afternoon. 

The centre obscured by dark clouds

A building storm (above and below)

 Towards the O2

Greyness around the Olympic stadium

Rain-pain encore

Don't say that Boris didn't warn us!

2012 London Olympics – opening ceremony from a distance

Olympics – lights and Canary Wharf (above and below)

 Fireworks on long delay

 Smoke, London and darkness

Two news items: tightening ban on aerial spraying + Oddbins' 30% off Olympic protest

Non-aerial blitzed vineyards in Touraine

Call for Blanket Ban on Aerial Spraying of Pesticides

French producers in the firing line for the aerial spraying of pesticides.

Posted Tuesday, 24-Jul-2012

A group of French agricultural associations are calling for a “total ban” on spraying pesticides from the air, which would take in the many wine regions currently granted an exemption.

The Grenelle law, passed in 2010, banned farmers from spraying pesticides on crops from helicopters and planes but allowed special exemptions. Two years on, four non-governmental organisations, including the National Union of French Beekeepers, the National Federation of Organic Farmers, and the country’s second largest agricultural union, the Confédération Paysanne, have joined together to lodge a protest. They claim that there are now too many exemptions, making a mockery of the ban.

“The exception is becoming the rule,” said a spokesman for the collective.

Read the rest on wine-searcher magazine here. 

http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2012/07/call-for-blanket-ban-on-aerial-spraying-of-pesticides

Oddbins' Olympic protest:

Oddbins takes stand against Olympics marketing rules

Written by Gemma McKenna (harpers)

Tuesday, 24 July 2012 15:11

Oddbins has called on small businesses to find creative ways to circumvent the “legal straitjacket” surrounding the Olympics, and has developed its own off-the-wall marketing push. Managing director Ayo Akintola has developed a “marketing counter-strike” to highlight the “absurdity” of the rules, that he maintains are quashing the Olympic spirit. Read the rest here. 30% discount: Oddbins' staff have been told that anyone coming into an Oddbins shop with the following collection will be entitled to a 30% discount: 'anyone wearing Nike trainers and has in their pocket a set of Vauxhall car keys, an RBS MasterCard, an iPhone, a bill from British Gas and a receipt for a Pepsi bought at KFC will receive 30% off their purchase.' The conditions set the bar at a level but surely not impossibly high...  Oddbins shop window@London Bridge

Pancho Campo: the views of the former 'Olympian'

A tweet from Tuesday 10th July 2012

Francisco 'Pancho' Campo was the captain of the Chilean tennis team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Campo was coach to the Chilean women’s team Paulina Sepúlveda (born 15th September 1968). Sepúlveda was beaten in first round 6-2, 6-3 by the Italian Anna-Maria ("Sandra") Cecchini. Campo marched in the Games' opening parade. See here – video posted by Campo on 13th July 2012.

Francisco Campo and his Chrand Management are organising a conference in Barcelona called Future Economy Barcelona 2012. It will be held on 19th and 20th October.