Olympic test race spins into town

Thousands of people lined the streets of Kingston on Sunday to watch some of the world's best cyclists fly past as part of the Olympic test event.

The London-Surrey Cycle Classic was held to test the route for the forthcoming Olympic Road Race, which will open the Olympic Games next year.

The 140km race is the biggest event to be organised by the London 2012 Olympic Organising Committee (LOCOG) to date, and was won by British athlete Mark Cavendish, who said: "It was incredible. There was a big crowd and it was very technical. It's really great."

Over 140 people took part in the race, which started on The Mall in St James's Park, ran through six London boroughs, four royal parks, Surrey, Kingston and then back into central London.

Kingston faced a considerable amount of disruption as a result of the race, including road closures, parking restrictions and noise disturbances, but Debbie Evans, London 2012 Director of Sport, said that residents by and large dealt well with the inconveniences.

"I want to thanks London and Surrey residents for changing their normal Sunday to accommodate this race and to the tens of thousands who lined the route to support the athletes," she said.

Picture thanks to SurbitonPeople