Following the spread of the new coronavirus, the organizing committee of the Games is calling for refraining from watching sports on public roads such as bicycles and marathons.


Of these, except for BMX, bicycle competitions are held mainly in Shizuoka prefecture.

At all three venues in Shizuoka Prefecture, competitions were held with spectators, and the road race was the first competition using public roads.


As I proceeded with the interview, I realized the difficulty of infection control, which is the most important issue for the Tokyo Olympics.

Difficulty of regulation on public roads

Men's individual road race for bicycles held on the second day of the tournament.


The 244km course started at "Musashinonomori Park" in Fuchu City, Tokyo, passed through Kanagawa and Yamanashi prefectures, and finished at "Fuji Speedway" in Shizuoka prefecture.

Of course, most of them are public roads.

Before the start, when I visited the intersection in Tama City on the course, many people had already gathered to see the competition at a glance.

In advance, the organizing committee of the tournament called for refraining from watching games along the road, but some watched the game with a smartphone in one hand and others waving their hands.



There were some staff members holding posters to encourage them to refrain from doing so, but from the perspective of preventing infection, it was difficult to raise their voices, and because it was a public road, it could not be stopped, and the distance between the gathered people. Is now quite close.

Audience venue Two “should be like this ...”

The Fuji Speedway, which can accommodate 22,000 people who finish the road race, is a sacred place for motor sports where F1 has also been held.

Originally, the players would have been greeted by the cheers of a crowded spectator.


However, due to the spread of the new corona infection, the maximum number of spectators was limited to less than half, 10,000, and they were required to refrain from cheering, using noise, and interacting with each other.



For boys, the distance is 244 kilometers, and the athletes who ran a long course from Fuchu City, Tokyo to Oyama Town, Shizuoka Prefecture by bicycle.

Approximately 10,000 spectators who could see the brave figure should applaud the players for their good fight, keeping a distance so that they would not be crowded within the unreserved seats.

However, on the day of the event, a crowd of spectators became hot as they watched the competition to see the moment of the finish up close.

Even though I was wearing a mask outdoors, it was so crowded that the spectators' shoulders hit each other, resulting in a long line of about 500 meters.



In response to this, the Games Organizing Committee responded by announcing in the venue on the next day's women's race to prevent spectators from crowding and tightening the number of people near the finish area.



As a result, although the crowding of people was lessened than the day before, there were still some scenes where the crowding was still seen.

In addition, the mountain bike held in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, goes around the Izu MTB course with a total length of 4100 meters.



Spectators can cheer anywhere in the spectator space throughout the course.



After all it is the finish point that is popular.

At the finish of Kohei Yamamoto, who will retire after participating in four consecutive Olympic Games, many people gathered and cheers that he should have been asked to refrain from doing so.

Tournament Organizing Committee


"We made the spectators aware of the new coronavirus infectious disease control guidelines and basically assumed that everyone would comply with them. On the other hand, considering the part that gets hot when watching the competition, We have prepared a warning as long as it does not spoil the enjoyment of the field. Due to the nature of the competition, it is difficult to avoid a crowded state. "

Difficulty of compatibility

Originally, a bicycle road race is a competition that receives a lot of cheers from the roadside when running from town to town.

That's what makes road racing so great.


Mountain biking is a race like "martial arts" where you can run through a tough off-road course at a speed faster than you can imagine, and it is said that the cheering and the presence of spectators along the course will help the athletes.



In fact, even in this race, the athletes who participated said, "The support of the spectators helped me. I am truly grateful."



The first thing that is required now is measures against infectious diseases.


The appeal of competition, which has long been popular with the management of competitions in line with the times.


Because it was a venue where watching games was allowed, I realized how difficult it is to achieve both.