London 2012: Surrey roads close for Olympic time trials

Roads have closed across Surrey ahead of the Olympic cycling time trials which take place later.

Hundreds of thousands of people are set to line the route, which takes riders from Hampton Court Palace into Surrey through several towns and villages.

Surrey County Council said extensive road closures would be in place.

All roads along the time trial route were closed by 07:00 BST. The southbound A3 exit slip road at Painshill will close from 08:30 BST.

Information on road closures and parking restrictions is available on Surrey County Council's Go Surrey website.

Earlier this week, Councillor Helyn Clack, the authority's cabinet member for the 2012 Games, urged people to plan ahead to enjoy the time trials on Wednesday and minimise "the inevitable disruption".

The route takes in several towns and villages including Thames Ditton, Weston Green, Esher, Hersham and Cobham as well as Kingston and Richmond.

The men's route also goes through Teddington and East and West Molesey.

Women's events are due to get under way at 12:30 BST, with the men's events starting at 14:15 BST.

Surrey County Council has provided a list of suggested viewing places including Box Hill, Byfleet, Dorking, Esher, Leatherhead and Mickleham.

Information for spectators said large crowds were expected along the whole route.

During the cycle road race held at the weekend, crowds in Surrey were eight-deep in places.

On Wednesday, people were advised to use public transport as their first choice for travelling to events because roads would be extremely busy.