Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is the royal palace in the London area of Richmond on River Thames in Greater London. This is the venue for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Cycling Time Trial. This event will take place on the roads that run around the stunning Hampton Court Palace. At one point of time, the palace housed many famous monarchs. Hampton Court Palace has been prepped up to host the start and finish of the London Olympics Cycle time-trial. The palace has not witnessed any residents from the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. The event will be hosted on August 1, 2012, the fifth day of the 2012 Games. Spectators from around the world will be flying in to Hampton Court Palace this summer to celebrate this prestigious event. The committee will be opening the palace doors for festivities and celebrations in the palace grounds after the medals have been presented.

Fast Facts

Sport Events Road Cycling (Time Trial)
Location Hampton Court is located in the London Region of Richmond on Thames in the south-west London.
New or Existing Existing, iconic location
Permanent or Temporary Permanent
Number of Events 2 Events

The former home of a renowned royal sportsman, Henry VIII, Hampton Court Palace is chosen as the official Olympic Games venue and will host the Cycling Time Trial on 1 August 2012. The Time Trial is one of two Road Cycling events and will be contested individually against the clock over a distance of 44km for men and 29km for women. Riders will set off at 90-second intervals and the rider with the quickest time of the day will earn the Olympic gold medal on the fifth day of the Olympics. The races will take place on Day 5 of the Olympic Games. Hampton Court Palace will mark the start and finish line of the cycling time trials at the London Olympics. The route was picked after the International Cycling Union (UCI) rejected initial plans for the time trials to take place in Regent's Park. The course wind through the boroughs of Richmond, Kingston upon Thames and Elmbridge, the event will finish outside the palace grounds on Hampton Court Road.T his stunning venue will draw crowds who will come to watch Emma Pooley who won a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

During The Game
The course will take riders over Hampton Court Bridge and into Surrey. There, they turn west on Hurst Road and will by-pass the Knight and Bess Borough reservoirs. Once this course is conquered, they will head towards East Molesey, making their way to Hampton Court Way, Weston Green Road and More Lane. The course track is built such that the hilly section of the course starts en-route to Cobham along Seven Hills Road, after this comes a turn on to Portsmouth Road. Later in the course track, the riders will take in Kingston-upon-Thames, Richmond, Teddington and Strawberry Vale, and finish the race by crossing the finishing line back at the palace.

After The Game
This beautiful court palace will be used for other events like the Exclusive Preview Evening which is a wonderful, relaxed and magical evening. The perfect finish to your evening is the magnificent fireworks display with the stunning backdrop of Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court Palace Flower Show Exclusive Preview Evening will be held on Monday 2 July, 2012. The Preview Evening will open at 5:30pm and will close at 10:30pm. Another mesmerizing event is the Hampton Court ice rink, which is located in front of Henry VIII's stunning Tudor Palace, which turns into one of the most magical locations for ice skating during the festive winter season. The court rink opens in November.

This agricultural estate will host this year's London 2012 Olympics 2012 Cycling Time Trial. The course will have the men loop through Teddington and Bushy Park upon their return into Kingston, while the women riders will cycle through Bushy Park and the palace grounds to the finish. They will start on the driveway to Hampton Court Palace and finish outside the Palace grounds on Hampton Court Road. Combined with the Olympic Games Road Race passing through the area on the opening weekend of the Games, this venue for the Time Trial will provide an array of excitement filled days of Olympic Road Cycling with plenty of openings for the fans to line the route to support their favorite riders.