With predictions of 60mm of rain on Saturday 20 March, enough to cause flash floods, a final decision on whether the L'Etape cycling event will proceed will be made by the organisers by 7pm on Friday evening, with safety remaining the prime concern on the day.

"If on the day there are any concerns around the safety of riders or road users, then we will be making a decision on whether the race continues or even starts," says Lake Illawarra Police District Commander, Detective Superintendent Dean Smith.

Assuming the event goes ahead, he wants to remind all residents and road users of the rolling road closures that will be in place.

"Our message is there will be disruptions to traffic with full road closures and contraflow arrangements. People need to be reminded that our expection is that road users are aware of the impacts of this event, they maintain safety at all times, and obey the directions of police and traffic management staff who will be in place along the course.

"They need to make sure they always respectful of the riders and the members of the public who are involved in this event.

"What we want to make sure is everyone is safe, both the roadusers and cyclists in the event."

Around 90 police officers will be deployed on the operation (most allocated on a user pays arrangement), along with traffic patrols, RMS officers, ambulance and emergency services, and the event organiser's traffic marshalls. L'Etape will have over 600 people working on the day, including 150 volunteers.

"We encourage everyone to use the L'Etape website to seek out info about the road closures, and also livetraffic.com on the day," says the District Commander.

"People need to be aware there will be disruption. The event organisers are very aware that we will be requiring them to reopen when they say they will be."

The Event Village taking shape at Coronation Park

Florent Malézieux, Head of Sport with the organiser Lateral Events Management, says, "We have been working for a long time to ensure the event is safe and that we minimise the impact on the local community.

"We will be working together very closely with the Police to make sure the event remains safe.

"The weather is the only thing outside our control.

"We will have special marshalls in place, especially in the descents, to make sure people slow down.

"The last time we as organisers can look at amending the course or taking some other steps is Friday night at 7pm."

He says that statistics show there are less cycling accidents in wet weather, as people are aware of the risks. However, they are working with NSW Ambulance and a private operator so medics can be on hand quickly if there are accidents.

The event is estimated to bring in at least $2.5 million of direct expenditure into the region.

"The idea of L'Etape is to showcase the destination through cycling, to encourage people to come back again," says Mr Malézieux.

"Yes, for a few hours there will be road closures, but the long term benefit will be great."

On Saturday, the best place to get information about the event is www.livetraffic.com