Fulham Supporters Cheer on Lizzie Armitstead
Onlookers see cyclist on her way to winning silver medal
After the Men's Olympic Cycling Road Race passed through Fulham on Saturday July 28, the excitement began again on Sunday with the Women's Race, which again passed through Fulham on both the outward and return legs.
Crowds gathered along Fulham Road and Fulham Palace on Saturday morning to watch the outward section of the Olympic Cycling Road Race.
The 156 mile long race began at The Mall at 10am then followed a route through Chelsea and then down Fulham Road and Fulham High Street to Putney Bridge.
From there the cyclists went through Surrey to Dorking and then several times around Box Hill, then followed the same route back, cycling east along Fulham Road towards the Mall finishing line.
From a sunny start, the weather detoriorarated into heavy rain, thunder and lightning and the cyclists returned in atrocious conditions on Fulham Road.
Supporters though were undeterred by the heavy rain and cheered enthusiastically at the leading group, which included Lizzie Armitstead, who went on to win Britain's first Silver medal of the games after a nail biting finish run in the Mall, when she was just beaten by Holland's Marianne Vos.
The stalwart crowds also waited to cheer on the remaining riders, coming along some minutes later.
The scene was very different on a sunny Saturday when excitement built at 3.30pm as onlookers gathered to see the men cyclists return on their way to The Mall. At the boundary of Fulham and Chelsea there were just five kilometers to go.
The crowd cheered on the cyclists, headed by Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan who had broken away from the leading group around the 10 kilometer mark. He went on to win the gold medal after accelerating going down the mall, leaving silver medallist Rigoberto Uran of Colombia trailing in his wake.
There were special cheers for the British riders, though there was disappointment for Mark Cavendish, who had been a favourite but failed to win a medal on the day.
For advice about travelling during the Olympics, visit Get Ahead of the Games.
July 30, 2012
