
By Gregor Brown (USA, Cycling Weekly, VeloNews)
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.