London 2012 well prepared for testing times ahead

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Luxury Olympic Tours

London is looking well prepared for the Olympics. With the cloud that surrounded the construction for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Spyns is happy to hear the London construction and testing is well on target.

We are been given a VIP tour by LOCOG of Olympic Stadium this week to see how it looks from the inside and to see where the best seats are for our clients. We have impeccably planned 4, 5, 7, and 10-Day tours for every budget to the London Olympic Games. Tours include Hotels, Guides, VIP and Private London Tours, and much more.

If you would like more information/detailed itineraries on our luxury 4, 5, 7, and 10-Day tours feel free to contact me at henry@london-olympiad.com.

The Organising Committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is confidently looking ahead to hosting a string of test events now that the final touches are being put on a number of Olympic venues throughout the city, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission reported today.

The Commission, making its eighth visit to London to monitor and assist preparations for next summer’s Games, was impressed by both the planning and the high quality of work being carried out by London 2012.

The Coordination Commission got a first-hand look at some of the venues that are nearing construction completion, including the Olympic Stadium and the first residential block of the Athletes’ Village, as well as some that are already open for test events, including the 6,000-seat Velodrome.

“The venues look fantastic thanks in large part to the vision and planning of London 2012 and the construction team, who have clearly taken great pride in their work,” said Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald. “We’re very pleased with the progress, and we can see that the athletes are really at the heart of these Games. Now it’s time to focus on the details and the testing phase, which is no easy process. But if they continue to follow the path they are currently on, we have absolutely no doubt they will deliver a top-quality Games and a great legacy.”

London will play host to 42 sports events between now and the start of the Games on 27 July 2012, which will give organisers ample opportunity to test a maximum number of logistical and operational elements.

London 2012 Chairman Seb Coe said, “The athlete in me knows that you never want to face something in an Olympic and Paralympic Games that you haven’t encountered thousands of times before in training or previous competition – and it is this principle which is guiding our preparations. I have always believed that if you focus on the athletes, who are at the heart of our Games, then we will get it right for all the other groups. We are in great shape and with less than 500 days to go we are delighted with the IOC’s very positive feedback.”

Now that many of the key infrastructure projects have been successfully delivered, the focus will switch to integrating all operational elements through a series of testing activities. Organising the Games in a city the size of London is always a complex process, and everyone must now pull together to ensure the smooth flow of transportation, spectator services and other operational elements

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.

Cycling time trial men and women to watch

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Leader of the pack: Fabian Cancellara will be the man to beat
at the London 2012 Olympics men's time trial race 



Spyns started as a small company offering luxury cycling tours for the Tour de France. As time has passed and happy clients have returned, the company has expanded but still kept that small friendly family feel. Now that we offer Olympic tours we will have a few cycling clients coming with us to London and checking out the newly built velodrome, and the 250km Men and 140km Road Race. We will have VIP refreshment tents set up along the route for our clients only. If you would like to join us for a glass of champagne as the leader passes, check out our website and chat to Ryan about our 4, 5, 7, and 10-day luxury tour options. www.london-olympiad.com

Fabian Cancellara: Switzerland
Brilliant Swiss time-triallist who wins under all conditions and over all terrain.

The reigning Olympic champion, which he won from Sweden’s Gustav Larsson, Cancellara always seems to have an extra gear when required and has also claimed four world titles and four Tour de France prologues. His power and pace is reflected elsewhere with two victories at Paris-Roubaix and other monument victories at Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders.

Signed for new UCI WorldTeam Leopard-Trek this season. Needs to be having an off day if anybody is to beat him, something which happens very rarely.

Tony Martin: Germany
Nicknamed ‘Der Panzerwagen’ by his team HTC-Highroad, Martin is an immensely strong young German rider who apart from his time-trialling ability he unselfishly spends endless hours at the front of the peloton pushing hard as HTC-Highroad chase down breaks to ensure a sprint finish for Mark Cavendish.

He is a also a more than useful operator in the mountains and is a potential grand tour winner one day, especially if long time trials come back into vogue. Has taken the bronze medal at the past two world time trail championships, in Mendrisio and Melbourne.

Taylor Phinney: USA
A stunning bright new American talent who took the World U23 time-trial championship at Geelong last year to add to the two senior world individual pursuit titles he has already won on the track, at Pruszkov in 2009 and Bellerup last March.

With no individual time-trial on the track in London and with the USA having no real strength in depth in team pursuiting, Phinney seems likely to concentrate on the men’s time trial and the course unveiled today looks right up his street, very quick and technical. Born to be a cyclist, his father Davis Phinney is a former professional road cyclist and his mother Connie Carpenter-Phinney won the women’s road race at the 1984 Los Angles Olympics.

Alex Dowsett: Great Britain
Immensely promising young British rider who went toe-to-toe with Phinney on a number of occasions last year, a stellar season which also saw him take the European U23 title, ride strongly for a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and storm to victory in the prestigious end of season Chrono des Nations U23 event.

Beat some big names recently in claiming fourth at the time trial at the Tour of Murcia. Has now signed for Team Sky and with thousands of hard racing miles under his belt this season and in the early part of next, Dowsett could be a dangerous outsider next year on a course that should suit his all-round skills set.

Richie Porte: Australia
The 'Tasmanian Devil' is still something of an untested talent having competed in a range of sports including triathlon right up to the age of 21 when he decided to try cycling.

Still “learning” but an impressive all-rounder who last year not only led the Giro d’Italia for three days and won the young rider category but just missed out on a bronze medal a the world championships time trial in Geelong, Australia. Racing for Saxo Bank-SunGard these days where he comes under the influence of former track and time trial specialist Brad McGee, a fellow Australian.

Women’s race

Emma Pooley: Great Britain
A former cross country and triathlon blue at Cambridge University where she studied for an engineering degree at Trinity Hall, Pooley quickly found success when she switched to road cycling.

She played a fine hand riding in support of Nicole Cooke at the 2008 Olympic road race and then enjoyed her own moment of glory taking a silver medal in the time trial behind Kristin Armstrong of USA. Since then she had become a major figure on the women’s circuit winning Coupe du Monde de Montreal and the Grande Boucle Féminine in 2009 and the prestigious ten day Tour de L’Aude last year.

She completed last season with a superb gold medal in the women's world championship time trial in Geelong. Brilliant on the hills, very good everywhere else.

Judith Arndt: Germany
Powerful and ultra consistent German rider who is never far away from the top of the podium. In a varied career she has been world road race champion and taken the silver medal in world time trial championships on three occasions with another couple of bronzes for good measure.

She won silver in the 2004 Athens Olympics in the road race and won the world title a couple of weeks later. On the track she won a bronze medal in the 3-kilometre pursuit as far back as 1996 in Atlanta. London might present her last chance of the global time trial title that has thus far eluded her.

Linda Villumsen: New Zealand
Another talented all-rounder who is approaching her peak. The Danish-born Villumsen finished fifth in the 2008 Olympic road race won by Nicole Cooke and since then has started to concentrate on the time trial at major championships.

In 2009, while still competing for Denmark, she won an excellent bronze medal on the tough Mendrisio course in Switzerland and the following year, having emigrated to New Zealand and become a New Zealand citizen, she won another world championship bronze at Geelong. Last year she also took a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games event behind Canada’s Tara Whitten, another likely contender next year.

Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.