Some helpful information for the Rio 2016 road races:
>> press working area is at Fort Copacabana on top of hill about 400m from finish line. There is a security check point that so far has been taking a very long time. Suggestion: get there early
>> Mixed zone at start/finish is out of the secure area, thus requiring another pass through a separate security check, so don’t leave it too late to go to mixed zone
>> Walking time b/w main press room and mixed zone is approximately 8mins, not counting security checks
>> there is working wifi at mixed zone — as of Thursday evening, there were no televisions — as it will be difficult to find TV live feeds with smart phones, it’s possible if you are in mixed zone, you will not be able to watch the race finale
>> mixed zone is on the wrong side of the finish line … i.e., the mixed zone is set up BEFORE the finish line, … this will give journos a great view of the final sprint, but will likely create chaos after the race as riders will have to loop back around the finish line to arrived to the mixed zone
>> all athletes who finish the race are required to pass through the mixed zone, but the medalists will only go to the TV booths before the podium ceremony … and it is not guaranteed they will pass through the mixed zone before heading to press conference
>> no guarantees that riders will be accessible via the mixed zone before the start of the race b/c mixed is set up on wrong side of start/finish … i.e., for the start, the mixed zone is positioned at 200m after the start line