– General: compliments for the organisation. The working conditions in the Tour de France were good. Just some small things can be better. Just two days the conditions at the finish were not good: Planche des Belles Filles and Valloire.

– The grey signs pointing to the press room are much more difficult to find than the former green signs. And that increases danger levels because we’re all trying to work out if we’re looking at a sign for a press room or a blank piece of wall.

– Press room and car parks are generally well secured so that you could feel good when you left your things behind.

– The internet functioned well. Only a couple of days it didn’t work out a bit now and then. The price remains expensive. Why not possibility to subscribe to a wifi connection for a device?

– Laundry that is in the press room every two days, is convenient.

– Roundbook is well set up. Only a few times away from the press room to the finish beyond what is written in the book.

– Location press rooms generally good. Only La Planche des Belle Filles and Valloire were poorly arranged. We understand that when you arrive uphill in these places the press room can’t be close to the finish line. In any case, make sure that the press room is close to team buses. Or make sure that at the finish there is a small press room with wifi and TV.

– New rules at the finish with the various zones were acceptable. It’s a pity that we weren’t able to think about this, but were confronted with it in the week before the Tour.

– Many journalists are still looking for a TV screen at the team buses. Some buses have TV outside, but quality is bad. Can organisation do something about this? That way you also keep journalists out of the fences.

– Buffets are generally good.

– Toilets at the press room deserve more attention. Absolutely for woman they were some days not acceptable.

– More needs to be done for us on the hot stages in the press rooms. They know in advance the forecast. But press rooms lack AC and any proper ventilation. In other races in China, they have big portalable AC units.

– The need for TVs beyond the finish line around the buses with BLACK tents so we can see the screens. Than a lot of journ’s won’t also come in the finisharea.

– Also the televisions in the chapiteau in the finishzone; is it possible to put them in a black tent and not a white tent.

– Route book pretty clear in general.

– Good that the total podium comes tot he pressroom fort he final pressconference in Val Thorens. That should be done at all WT-races. A lot of races should follow this example.

– Etappes 1 and 2: Press room Brussels was good. The start was easily accessible by metro for two days. Finish stage 1 was much further than the round book indicated.

– Etappe 3: Next to press room Epernay was a huge parking lot for VIP’s, but it was completely empty. Media had to park cars in the streets around the press room. Not convenient.

– Etappe 3: Beyond the finish line Epernay towards the team busses was a large TV screen. Ideal. This way you could follow the race perfectly and caught the etappers outside the fences while they were on their way to the bus.

– Etappe 4: press room in Nancy in excellent position.

– Etappe 6: Small press room at the bottom of the climb Planche des Belle Filles had no internet and wifi. Shuttle media drivers didn’t know where to drop off journalists. Badly arranged. This has to be improved. It’s the fourth time that the Tour finishs here and still it’s a problem…

– Etappe 7: Press room Chalons sur Saone was further from the finish than indicated in the round book. It’s a good thing that busses were lying between the finish line and the press room.

– Etappe 9: In Brioude it was necessary to be able to park your car near the finish/bus. Walking the distance was too far.

– Etappe 10: In Albi it was necessary to be able to park your car near the finish/busses. Walking the distance was too far.

– Parking press room Etappe 11 in Toulouse was not well signposted. Also the road from the parking to the press room was far and not clearly signposted. For press parking in Toulouse there was also zero warning that we had to remove our cars from the press park by a particular time. Some journo’s got back there at midnight and it was completely closed off, no access to car! If press carparks have an ‘exit this place by x time of the evening’ they should warn us.

– Route from press room to start time trial in Pau stage 13 was hard to find.

– Press room in La Mongie Etappe 14 Tourmalet was fine. Especially since the buses are parked nearby. It would be useful if there would be a shuttle bus later.

– To understand that on arrival at Prat d’Albis there is not enough room for press room and parking press. Distance press room to buses was still quite large. There was enough space to park by the buses. Again a pity that the last shuttle to the top of the climb leaves so early.

– Etappe 16 The lack of air conditioning in the pressroom in Nimes made it unbearable.

– Etappe 17 press room in Gap is fine. And a nice cool press room. Especially in the heat this is no superfluous luxury! The start at Pont du Gard was chaotic and the parking lot was gone a lot.

– Press room Etappe 18 in Saint Michel de Maurienne is situated a lot further from the finish in Valloire. Also because all teams sleep in Valloire is necessary for many to go upstairs. Shuttle bus drivers gave zero indication of where they would pick us up/what time buses began going back down the hill. Here a solution with a chapiteau should have been found. In Valloire there should be enough place somewhere. This could have been better.

– Tignes. Press room fine. Only a pity that Christian Prudhomme doesn’t come into the press room just after this Etappe to answer questions from writing journalists. Think that if you decide to cancel a Etappe, someone from ASO will have to come to the press room to answer questions.

– Val Thorens, excellent press room on excellent location. General press conferences top three were good. It is also important that the top three come to the press room on this day.

– New press room in Paris near Champs Elysées was fine, better than previous ones by a long way in the Hyatt. BUT access to it on foot was very complicated, no  prior warnings that metro stations on Champs Elysées were all closed,  and signs for press to get there hardly existed. Whilst trying to get in to the press room, some journo’s got completely lost and with all the extra security controls and checkpoints it made it very difficult and stressful to find anything. We appreciate this is one of the most ’security-sensitive’ days and it’s a new press room, but some simple things, like signposts, can be better.

2019 Review

Overall: the Vuelta continues to provide a very satisfactory and well-planned environment for working in, from accreditation through to the website, press rooms and starts. However, the sudden worsening from one year to another in working conditions at race finishes was notable and needs to resolved urgently.

Accreditation and general media handling: straightforward as ever.

The media Wattsapp group in English as well as in Spanish: designed to keep press up to date with logistical changes and press releases/results continued to work well. Particularly appreciated that we get full results and commissaires/medical reports every evening! A great idea and a pity other top races don’t bother doing the same…

Starts: generally run well, with the notable exception (for logistical reasons to do with excessive distances between different events at the start and not the organisation’s responsibility) of Benidorm on stage two. Parking for buses was generally pretty close. The question of whether signing on area needed more work done on it to make it easier to do interviews is an area which needs more checking up on by the AIJC.

Finishes:  clear indications on general access with one or two notable exceptions in the first week. Particularly, the finish at Torrevieja on stage one had very difficult access and poor signalling and the press parking was a disaster. Fortunately, after that, it improved.The distance between team buses and finishes and/or press rooms, which has caused some logistical nightmares in the past for media as well as considerable time losses, was improved compared to 2018. However, we hope for more improvements in the future.

Working at finish areas: probably the area that most needs resolving, and where after several years where there has been general improvement, in 2019, things took a significant turn for the worse.From Unipublic’s point of view, the main problem is an excessive number of media and other race staff at the finishes, which in the Vuelta are often very limited in terms of space causing problems of safety and excessive pressure on riders.Unipublic argue that journalists, in particular the radio media, did not respect riders enough after finishes, and that teams are also bringing in too many staff to the finishes.  Some stages, particularly in the second week, ended up being excessively crowded and it was all but impossible for some sections of the media to work.From the media’s point of view, there was also not enough space in the media tents at the sides of the finish. Access to riders was very patchy and needs clearly establishing.  Also the types of journalists and team staff  authorized to be present at the finish needs re-organising and the access to the team buses, if improved, would reduce the necessity of journalists at the finish line. Unipublic and the AIJC have agreed that a further meeting is necessary in April when the protocol for finishes is clearly established, and that the AIJC will attend the pre-race meeting in September between team press officers and Unipublic.The AIJC appreciates the major efforts being made by Unipublic/ASO to resolve these questions, but also sees an urgent need for ongoing contacts,. Access in some format  at the finish is not a luxury for journalists, it’s a professional necessity and in a sport which lives off sponsorship, where the line is drawn between access, safety and other questions is one which needs considerable discussion.

Signalling: satisfactory. If we get a hors cours signalling it would be wonderful…

Press rooms: generally very good, with the notable exception of Toledo, which was terrible. Working in an auditorium is ok, but the seating arrangements and seats themselves in Toledo were too cramped and small. Unipublic have agreed that in future years they will try to resolve this issue if an auditorium is used again.
The mobile press room worked well in general, with the exception of Alto de la Cubilla, where it was too far from the finish, but logistically it would have been impossible to get it any closer!
Buffets were mostly excellent, there was plenty of free water, the free coffee machine was great til it broke (thankyou TVE journalists), and space was generally acceptable. Wifi worked very well.The question of the quality of video conferences was resolved after a first few difficult days, and to their credit, Unipublic worked very hard to get it resolved.

Press avant – press arrierre at starts: Introduced this year and only patchily successful. In need of improvement.

Media questions/translations: it was agreed by Unipublic that in future priority in press conferences would be given to journalists rather than the current situation where there is no distinction between organisation media officers and journalists.  Translations were excellent.

Race website: satisfactory and very fast with results.

Route book: no complaints. The media guide, in English and French, is a hugely useful complement that other bike races would do well to introduce.

Roglic: This year’s overall winner of the Vuelta a España was notably extremely uncollaborative in his press conferences, refusing to answer more than three questions on any single day to the written press on any stage. From the AIJC’s point of view this attitude is understandable if say, there is no change in the leader for several days, or there is a long transfer after the stage. But the situation reached a ridiculous point after the second last stage when, having won the Vuelta, Roglic refused to take more than four questions, making this the shortest ever winner’s press conference in a Grand Tour that this correspondent can recall in 30 years and showing a general lack of collaboration/interest which is anything but beneficial for both the media and the race. Apart from insisiting to the teams that they must ask for a greater degree of collaboration from the riders, the AIJC will try to investigate with the UCI what can be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Shuttle buses: barely used this year and absolutely fine when they were, on the second last day.

Zone mixte: innovation in the finish area in 2019 and although very occasionaly there were some problems with security for journalists trying to access there, notably less than in previous years. It was noticeable that when not in areas covered by Spain’s Policia Nacional, apart from Andorra, security at the finish was not as effective. Like, for example, in Igualada in Catalonia.

Changes for 2020

A detailed pre-race meeting between Unipublic, their press officers and the AIJC to try and resolve the problems over access at finishes will be held in April. The AIJC will also attend the pre-race meeting between Unipublic and the team press officers each September to explain journalists’ needs at finishes.

Press rooms: Unipublic have agreed that in future years if an auditorium is used again as a press room they will double check on the conditions before giving it the green light.

Press conferences: Trying to ensure a greater degree of collaboration between teams and riders when it comes to press conferences.More mobile toilets when the mobile press tent is used. This is the third year we’ve asked for this.

Press avant-press arriere: Unipublic promise to continue to build on improvements here from this year.

Media questions: it was agreed by Unipublic that in future priority in press conferences would be given to journalists rather than the current situation where there is no distinction between organisation media officers and journalists.

Press conferences: More discussion needed on how to ensure press conferences last longer than two minutes and three questions.

History section: A new search engine for the Vuelta’s history section is expected to be introduced into the website.

General: A spectacularly improved race in terms of results and route this year, la Volta a Catalunya continues to have a limited infrastructure and to operate in the same way as ever. As a result, it’s almost possible to ‘copy and paste’ last year’s report.

Parts of the Volta’s organisation which could be changed at little cost (like the route book design) remain poor. However,well-organised elements, like the results system, continue to work very well.

It will be interesting to see how, or indeed if, the agreement with ASO changes things in the future.

There was also the question of the refusal of two photographers accreditation to the race. This issue has been dealt with separately and an AIJC report will be sent soon to the UCI.

Information available on the website/accreditation: Straightforward.

Signposting to the Accreditation centre: Accurate, but limited to far too close to the actual centre. By the time you started seeing arrows, you were all but already there.

Race live-ticker: Very good. TV coverage continues to be very patchy.

Routebook: Exactly the same observation as last year and the year before that and the year before that… maps in the route book of the stage routes are virtually useless, (not to mention partly illegible). Distances from press room to the finish/team buses to the finish would be a very useful addition. However, the rest of the routebook is well structured. A partial redesign is therefore recommended.

Working conditions at the start: Ok, although parking for journalists remains something very randomly organised and as ever at Callela since 2012, none-existent.

Working conditions at the finish: generally good with the exception of Lo Port, the crucial stage of the race. Reaching the finish that day for the written press verged on the impossible (we were told we could go as high as two kilometres from the finish in cars of four people at most and then walk!). What made the whole stage even harder to report on was the organisers claim as to the correct location of the buses on the climb, which proved totally inaccurate. Getting quotes after the stage therefore proved a major challenge. On the other hand, a soundfile interview of the day’s winner was circulated in the press room.

Signposting in general: very good, but very limited. Needs extending.

Parking at the finish: well-organised compared to the starts.

Pressroom: generally well organised but generally (with the exception of Calella) not big enough. Good to have some food in some of the press rooms this year. And the guaranteed presence of at least one member of staff in the press room at all times made it a lot less stressful leaving equipment there.

Results: Excellent and one which other top races in Spain would do well to follow. Clearly produced, and in a easy-to-use format. The repetition of the start sheet (with riders time losses) on each full stage report was a real bonus. The only complaint: no sign of the commissaires or medical reports.

Buses to the finish: no need for these.

Translations:limited, to say non-existent. For Spanish speakers it didn’t matter, but as for those who didn’t speak Spanish?

Internet: Fine. Using the towns and villages ‘local’ wifi network is a strategy which works fine in the Volta because the organisers realise the pressroom needs wifi and puts it in places where it is available.

Distance Pressroom – Finish: generally, fine, except Lo Port.

Distance Finish – Teams buses: No problem, except at Lo Port where we didn’t even know where the buses were.

Information about the race in the Pressroom: Live ticker and tv.

Food or drinks at or near the Pressroom: good!

Press conference: generally good, although almost always way too short. Sound quality was better this year than others..

Amount of professional and non-professional journalists: Not sure, to be honest.

Conclusions: overall, the Volta a Catalunya is a very good race to work on and the organisers are helpful and understanding towards journalists needs. However, some areas definitely need improving.

Conclusion: RCS Sport organises their races well for the press, especially Strade Bianche, now in its first year as a WorldTour event. Improvements needed with internet.

Accreditation: Website functions much better in 2017. Thanks for the step up.

Starts: For the races, specifically Tirreno-Adriatico, the buses should be next to the podium so that they can be part of the show. Also, a system needs to be established to encourage riders to sign-in earlier. Often, teams wait for the last 15 minutes and there is a ‘traffic jam’ of cyclists signing in. It’s bad for the journalists, organiser and fans.

Pressrooms: RCS organised the pressrooms well, provided water and food, and internet.

Pressroom location: A continued concern. It needs to be near the buses or near the finish, not between the two that forces journalists to drive to the buses or finish. The Tirreno-Adriatico’s Montalto di Castro finish was an issue, the buses could have been at the pressroom. Pomarance too. For the second year, the buses were far down a hill and the cyclists do not stop.

Bathrooms: Some were clean, some were dirty and lacked soap to wash hands.

Winner’s press conferences: Organised in a timely fashion with translations when needed.

Food: Often, the locals provided food for the journalists working. We appreciate this. It would be great to have buffets also in Sanremo and Siena for the Strade Bianche.

Internet: RCS Sport is behind the times. ASO and Flanders Classics offers free and fast internet, RCS insists on charging too much money for wifi for its written journalists. We have mentioned this multiple times. Again, there needs a better — cheaper or free and fast — solution.

Results: On time and well organised.

1) Information on website: You could find a lot of information on the website of the local organistion.
2) Accreditation: accreditation system by UCI and Wings works perfectly. Didn’t hear any complains.
3) Indication to Accreditation Centre: no problems. The accreditation was not far from the local circuit at The Pearl. Also the shuttle-bus from the media-hotel to the pressroom stopped at the accreditation-center.
4) Live-ticker of the race: You could find on a lot of websites every information.
5) Working conditions at the starts: no special problems. Start of the elites was not at the local circuit so there was not much press.
6) Working conditions at the finish: No problems. Every rider had to pass through the mixed-zone. People from the organization where forcing the riders to follow this route. While there was not much public and the road was empty it was a little bit strange that the media had to wait at the mixed-zone to speak with the riders. But it’s logical that UCI wants to follow the concept they have for every Worlds. For the futher it has to be sure that the media also can visit the boxes of the national teams. In the past there were special passes for the media to visit this area.
7) Pressroom: Perfect. Good location.
8) Distance pressroom – finish: Perfect.
9) Internet, information about the race in the press room and results: no complaints at all.
10) Food or drinks at or near the pressroom: very good. You could buy simple but good meals near the pressroom. Much better food than in the olympic venues in Rio 2016. And in the pressroom there was free coffee, water, softdrinks and snacks.
11) Press conferences: Good! Straight to the point.
12) Amount of professional and non-professional journalists: Good controle. No complains and good collaboration between UCI and AIJC on this point.

The collaboration between UCI, local organization and AIJC for a mediahotel during the Worlds in Qatar worked perfect. The Edzan was a 4 stars hotel at 8 km from the finish. With the shuttle-service (two times in an hour) it was easy to go to the pressroom and accreditation centre. The price (about 90 euro’s with breakfast) was good. The UCI and AIJC spoke in Doha already about also trying to find mediahotels for the next WorldChampionchips.

Finish line: Safety and security was a big issue for the finish of Il Lombardia in Bergamo. The barriers did not extend far beyond the finish line and RCS Sport was short-staffed. Many fans made there way by the one or two workers to where the riders stopped and caused issues with the soigneurs and journalists. One soigneur had to push a fan away. It is chaos, dangerous and unacceptable in a WorldTour event by such a prestigious organiser.

Bus parking: Two kilometres away. We were forced to drive to the team buses to speak with some cyclists and missed the press conference. The buses should be part of the show and placed near the finish.

Accreditation: The website is slightly better and functions.

Pressroom: The organisation found a reasonable placement for the headquarters and pressroom, around 700 metres from the finish line. There were plenty of TVs, food and drink. Perfect.

Parking: The organiser provided ideal parking near the pressroom.

Internet: The internet should be free like in other one-day monument races. This year, the organiser asked for five euro.

Winner’s press conference: Inside the pressroom and on time.

Food: The organiser provided free drinks and snacks.

Results: On time.

1. Information on website: Nothing really to complain about
2. Accreditation: Strange to experience that someone of the organization does a double check, after sending all details (press card etc); on the other hand it could be useful to avoid that hobby-journalists enter the race
3. Indication to Accreditationcentre: Good indicated.
4. Live-ticker of the race: Is ok!
5. Workingconditions at start: Not too bad, unless the weather was most of the time terrible and dat made the riders staying too long in their busses
6. Workingconditions at finish: No problems.
7. Pressroom: Most of them were ok
8. Distance Pressroom – Finish. Not always that good. For example the pressroom of the prologue was a little bit too far to pendle between the teams in de streets (big distances) and going back tot he pressroom..
9. Distance Finish – busses of the Teams. At the time trail it was horrible to get te the parking square….almost half an hour walking from the pressroom
10. Internet: A disaster, especially the first days. And the organization did nothing to resolve the problem
11. Information about race in Pressroom: I would say ok.
12. Results: Ok
13. Food or drinks at or near Pressroom: In general it was well organized, especially the raclette was wonderful!
14. Pressconference; Good, no complaints

General: overall the Vuelta is usually one of the most enjoyable races to work on and that continues to be the case. Issues arising for the print media in 2016 were, for the most part, resolved quickly and we are seeing lots of progress in others.
Some operational areas, such as the signalling, translation service, food and drinks buffets and race website, continue to be run very well. Other pressing questions like the opening times and closing times for press rooms, after discussions with the AIJC, are now much improved and as of this year, we at last have a much improved press room in Madrid and very close to the finish, too.
Several ongoing questions raised by the AIJC, such as the results service or the creation of a press avant and press arriere at starts, need to be worked on, but in any case the situation is better than previous years. A
A few other areas, like the Vuelta history on the race website and – importantly – the distances between press rooms, finishes and team buses, continue to remain unresolved. On the plus side, we’ve been promised discussions in this area by race organisers.
The change of Vuelta head press officer this year, despite being shortly before the race began, has helped boost an already marked improvement in the race’s clear interest in resolving organisational problems overall.
Above all there is a continuing fluidity of communication in both directions from media to race staff and vice versa. As ever there will be a meeting between the AIJC, ASO and Unipublic over the winter to try and continue to clear up any outstanding issues and questions like the press rooms will be resolved, or at the least discussed, there.

Information available on the website/accreditation: Very straightforward and clear in both cases. The website is now very well run. However, I have been asking for the Vuelta’s history section to be restored to the website for years now. This was promised to us two years ago, one year ago, and still nothing has happened.

Signposting to the Gran Depart Accreditation centre: Good when you got close by but not before, which didn’t help much. This is the third year it’s been poor. An email indicating the precise location of the press room was not sent out well in advance.

Race live-ticker: Excellent. Plenty of information.

Routebook: Ok, but the format (too large) rather than the more convenient Giro size could be resolved. The alternative route from starts to finishes still needs to be indicated more clearly, as do press avants and press arrieres at starts.

Accreditation at the race: Most journalists went through the accreditation process very quickly, a few others painfully slowly. Needs revising.

Working conditions at the start: The introduction of a ‘press avant’ and ‘press arrierre’ is not indicated in the route book and at times seemed unclear at the start. On the other hand, the parking staff were generally friendly and helpful.
In the first week, the police force working at the start were at times extremely overenthusiastic about removing and manhandling the ‘wrong’ sort of people – including journalists with press passes – from areas where we could work. It would be good if the organisers could tell them to calm down and explain their job – and ours – to them.

Working conditions at the finish: overall, very good. The tendency for soigneurs to take over the journalists tv ‘pen’ needs resolving. On a few occasions the tvs didn’t work.

The one exception to this generally good work scenario was – in part – Aitana, with a complete breakdown in correct information about where to park your car and how to get to the top of the climb. Working conditions at the top, though, were excellent.
A lot of this, though, was due to incorrect information being provided to the race organisers by the finish host and we appreciate the huge efforts made by the Vuelta press officer to try and resolve it in the case of journalists who ended up in difficulties. It does highlight, though, the need for whoever is ‘scouting’ the day ahead of the race for the Vuelta to check things thoroughly – which doesn’t appear to have happened.

Signposting in general: normally, excellent, although in Bilbao, at the finish to reach the press room, it was a complete disaster. Once again and for another year running, by far the best of the three Grand Tours.

Parking at the finish: Excellent, apart from San Andres de Teixido, where it was handled very badly and staff were rude.

Pressroom: Very friendly, cooperative staff. Generally ok to good, but on some occasions – Aramon-Formigal and Aubisque in particular, too small. The ones used in Madrid was much, much better than previously, and the one in Peña Cabarga better than previously too.
Timetables for the press room on the rest day was indicated and timetables for the pressrooms have improved. For now, with attendance at a minimum on the rest day, it seems only necessary to open it on those days for three hours.
However, where was the security for the pressroom? Police officers or at least a member of the Vuelta staff supposed to be checking passes were, all too often, not there, meaning members of the public could – and did – wander in.

Results: The online service of results generally worked well, with the exception of Lugo, where Alejandro Valverde enjoyed half an hour as race leader online before somebody noticed that it was actually still Darwin Atapuma.
However, the results service on paper format, if much improved, still has a long way to go before being sorted out. Information like the commissaires report and medical bulletin is not provided regularly, results in paper format sometimes take ages to appear. The delays need resolving.

Buses to the finish: Satisfactory

Translations: excellent, and well organised in the press conferences, and in another big improvement for the Vuelta all information regardling buses and press conferences was translated into English and French. Other races take note.

Internet: apart from the first week, when there were some really bad days, it generally worked fine.

Distance Pressroom – Finish: All too often, not good – way too far. In 14 of the 21 finishes, the distances were only drivable. At Ourense, the distance of 20 kilometres on bad roads made a very late finish already even more difficult to report on. On occasions like Calp and Gandia, with the abundance of hotels nearer the finish, was there any real reason why we had to be a kilometre and a half away? Organisers are sometimes ‘given’ a location by the local authorities for the press room – but is it not possible to specify that the press centre has to be, at most, 500 metres from the finish on all but mountain stages? On top of this, we have finishes that are late.

Distance Finish – Teams buses: not ideal at all on too many stages, particularly in the mountain stages where on all of the ten summit finishes, the buses were several kilometres away. All too often the buses were in one place, the press rooms in another and the finishes in another, with a drive needed between each of them.
It’s clear that different journalists want different things and the organiser can’t satisfy everybody and at finishes like Aitana they made a big effort to try to sort things out. But in general, it’s fair to say the closer the three are together, the better. The closer they are, apart from safety issues, they also mean journalists have more time to write, which means more Vuelta coverage – in short, everybody benefits.

Information about the race in the Pressroom: Live ticker and tv. Generally good. More tvs supplied on most days – in another improvement – but it would be good if this was a regular phenomenon..

Food or drinks at or near the Pressroom: as ever really good. Overall the catering is one of the high points of the Vuelta, and particularly with a ‘second service’ at six o’clock, much appreciated by photographers. An example for other races to follow.

Press conference: in general these worked very well with very good translations. There were some major problems with the video tv link, particularly in the first week, but fortunately by the time we reached the second and third these were resolved.

Amount of professional and non-professional journalists: Yet again, too many journalists who are not dedicated professionals continue to be let into the race. It is already tough for us to get riders to come off buses, to attend to us at finishes and some of the Vuelta’s pressrooms, like at Aramón Formigal, were very small and space is at a premium. Is it really necessary to give press passes to semi-bloggers who a) take up space in the press room b) take up interview time at starts and finishes c) sometimes treat the whole event as if it was an extended holiday?

Conclusions: The question of press room locations, the bloggers, results service and the return of the history to the website are perhaps the four most urgent issues that need to be resolved in full, and press parking at starts remains in need of resolving. But across the board, the Vuelta works very well, and when aware that it needs to improve areas, they make a big effort to try do so.

The Wifi Internet – A continued problem is not resolved. It is too expensive – 18 euro for the day rate – and slows down at key times after the race. The rate is 150 for 10 days and around 250 for the Giro. There should be a less expensive option for written journalists and one that works.

Basics – Some bathrooms did not have locks on the doors and most did not have soap or towels to dry your hands. We understand that the Giro uses schools and public buildings, but the RCS Sport team could supply these basics to the bathrooms.

Fans in pressroom – Fans were wandering around the pressroom in stage four. Also, on stage 13, too many non-journalists were in the pressroom. It is too loud and not safe. At some point, those controlling the doors to the pressrooms do not seem to be vigilant.

Pressrooms – They were organised well and often spacious. Press conferences were announced so that everyone could hear.

Food: Most days, the local organiser provided superb buffets. Having coffee always available in the pressroom would be a plus.

Press conferences – They took too long to occur, like last year. RCS Sport needs to speed this up, have the winners arrive sooner. Translations were made at the end in some cases to make the process quicker.

Finishes – New security forces on the finish line would not let journalists pass to arrive to the finish line. Some times, we were made to walk too far around to arrive to the press tents.

Buses – Bus parking on most stage finishes was better placed than in recent years. At the Corvara finish, however, they were supposed to be 1.2km away, but were around 3k away. Sestola, too, was a problem. You had to drive to arrive there and it was a mess to return to the pressroom, and for other team cars trying to leave the parking area.

Press parking at buses – We suggest parking at the buses for the press for the starts. The Tour has its Hors Course parking for this reason. Often, the journalists only want to work at the bus and then leave for the finish on the highway.

Specific notes from Dutch start:

Pre-race press conferences – RCS Sport organised them well with teams coming to the press centre.

Apeldoorn – No internet for a long time in pressroom. Ridiculous when we need to work. No sound from pressroom TVs. And no one person responsible and available in pressroom to solve these problems.

Arnhem start – No signs to the start. People working the barriers came from Den Haag and didn’t know where to direct us.

Nijmegen finish – No signs to press parking, so some parked at the wrong one. Also, RCS Sport staff parked at wrong place. TVs in the pressroom didn’t work between 12 and 5km from the finish.

Nijmegen start – No signs to the start and no signs to press parking before start.

Arnhem finish – Good signs to the parking, much better than first day. However, again, no one responsible in the pressroom at a certain point.