Tag: UK Sportives

Running for the fourth year the Heart of the Wolds takes in the fine Yorkshire countryside as usual, but with the added spice of preceding the Tour de Yorkshire by a couple of days.

The ‘Tour’ roams across the whole of the county but this event stays firmly in the Wolds. The area provides rolling hills, stunning scenery and picture postcard villages. The event starts and finishes in Driffield but a choice of loops are available to suit different levels of rider including a few ‘hill challenges’ for the more advanced.

Three official routes are on offer. The shortest, The Langtoft Loop, of 23miles (37km) is ideal for sportive first-timers or those who are relatively new to cycling. The Classic of 64miles (100km) is more of a test with stiff climbs and technical descents in the highest hills the Wolds has to offer. The ultimate ‘Challenge’ of 86miles [134km] is for those who want to push themselves to their limits, with over 1,200 metres of climbs and at least five hours in the saddle.

‘Early Bird’ prices are £25 for the Classic and Challenge and £20 for the Loop until 31st Jan. For that you get pre-event repair service, post-event massages, tea and biscuits to start and a hot meal on your return. Route map, mobile support and ‘goodie bag’ are also provided. Registration and start is from 8:30 to 9:30 on the day at the Driffield Showground.

The choice of routes for Heart of the Wolds Cycle Sportive can be seen here, for details of the sportive see woldssportive.co.uk and booking at sportsentrysolutions.co.uk

As we count down to the UK’s biggest professional cycle race, The Tour of Britain, sponsor Friends Life offer the opportunity for amateurs to follow the pros on one of the key stages.

After the success of hosting a stage of last years Tour of Britain Worcester will host the 2015 Friends Life Tour Ride, a mass participation cycle event for amateur cyclists.

Three route options for the Ride are available, headlined by a ‘Pro’ 100mile route, which will showcase some of the toughest roads in the county and includes 2,246m of ascent. ‘Intermediate’ at 75miles (121km) with 1,538m ascent, and ‘Challenge’ – 40miles [64km] with 427m ascent – round out the offering.

Tour Ride Sportive starts at the University of Worcester Arena, and finishes on Worcester Racecourse allowing for a closed-road finale and with prices staring from £26.

• Facilities include:
• Event centre facilities and parking
• Mechanical support
• Full route signage
• Rider public liability insurance
• Free energy drink + energy snacks
• Electronic chip timing and professional event photography
• Rider times available online
• Official finishers medal and goody bag
• Post-ride food, refreshments & massage
• Emergency event support
• Broom wagon service

Full details of the Tour Ride Sportive 2015 at tourride.co.uk

Offering 47, 82 and 102mile routes the New Forest Rattler delivers some great cycling and some spectacular scenery. There are sections with long open straights that are truly exhilarating, some punchy hills, and also some longer gradual climbs. The maximum gradient is at Blissford hill near the end of each route where you will encounter a 25% climb. This is a short sharp climb that looks like a wall as you approach it.

The routes have been designed to encounter as little traffic as possible, and there are minimal miles on bigger roads. In places the routes narrow to single lanes and extra care will need to be taken on these sections. Riders will also need to be extremely careful when passing any of the livestock that reside in this wonderful part of the country. Horses in particular tend to get easily spooked by passing cyclists, so please take care while enjoying what has become a favourite fixture in many people’s cycling calendar.

The 102mile epic route offers the more experienced sportive rider a fantastic challenge, and completely showcases the fantastic New Forest National Park. Be warned though – the last 20 miles of the epic route are the hilliest…

Entry fees are £27 for the 47miler and £30 for both longer routes. Full details of the New Forest Rattler at cyclofanatic.co.uk

Run over the May Bank Holiday weekend Pedal Norfolk is a 4night/3 day cycling festival based around the stunning Holkham Hall estate on the North Norfolk coast.

The Pedal Norfolk event features 3 sportives – 100miles on Saturday May 2, 100miles on the Sunday and 50miles on Monday, May 4. 50- and 20mile options are also available on all events or, for something less competitive, you could just use the many tracks that criss-cross the 25,000 acres estate. If you are of the ‘Tri’ persuasion you might even take a dip off the ‘Best Beach in the UK’.

If you’re tempted by a 250mile weekend by staying for the three days you can camp on site. The camp-site is available for £20 per night and provides full facilities including food and those all-important hot showers.

The annual highlight for many will be Emma Pooley, Olympic and Commonwealth Games Medalist. Pooley will host an evening QA session and will be joining competitors for the full 250-miler.

The 3-day ride tickets for £90 include camping, great Norfolk food before, during and after riding and entertainment each evening.

More details on Pedal Norfolk are available at pedalnorfolk.co.uk

Wrap up for a challenging ride in Surrey that also dips in to Sussex, taking in Crocknorth Road and Juniper Climb early on in the 60mile route. The Christmas Cracker is the perfect post-Xmas way to get, literally, back in the saddle and try and forget the excesses of the holiday season. HQ is the Cobham Village Hall (map here) with registration from 7am and an early start of 7.30 likely to blow away those cobwebs. Chip timing SAG wagon and feed station are all provided for what looks to be a challenging day on the bike. Don’t forget those winter tyres…

Entry to the Christmas Cracker is £25 with further details and online entry at 5034events.co.uk

Part of the Performance Cycles series of winter events, the final ride of 2014 takes place on December 14 based out of the Cotswold Water Park near Cirencester (map here.) The format is simple and designed purely to keep up the energy and the miles during the winter months. There’s no electronic timing or feed stations, and the route – between 45 and 65miles – aren’t leg-busting but are well marked with full mech support. There are free energy products for each rider and hot food, drinks and cake for all finishers. Best of all the price is an incredible bargain at just £8.50.

Places are limited on the Performance Cycles Winter Mini-Sportives to just 150 riders, so if you’re serious about keeping those miles ticking by through the winter we recommend you book early. Details and online entry at performancecycles.co.uk