Entries Tagged 'cyclo sportives' ↓

Cycle sportives are one of the fastest growing areas of cycling. They provide one day challenges of both distance and climbing. Some of the hardest cycle sportives can be as difficult and demanding as a stage of the Tour de France. Many who are wanting to ride a 200km plus cycle sportive will be anxious to consider the best way of training for a 200km ride, especially as most people have limited time to train.

Weekly longer Ride.

Once a week, it is necessary to find time for a longer ride. This doesn’t have to be 4-6 hours every week of the year. One good tip is to try every month to get a good distance ride in. This monthly ride should try to by 70-80% of the target ride. So if you are planning to do a 200Km ride, it is good to aim to have done at least, a 150km ride in training. But, a long ride once a month, will be sufficient for making you used to riding the longer miles. Obviously, if you can do it more frequently, that is better, but, it is not essential to cycle 300 miles every week.
Continue reading →

I do alot of my training in the chilterns. One of my favourite hill climb training rides is one that weaves up and down the edge of the chilterns, around Wycombe, Stokenchurch, Chinnor and Bledlow Ridge. One of my favourite climbs is a 5 mile ascent of continuous climbing from Wycombe upto Stokenchurch on the A40. The gradient is pretty shallow, but the climb can take 15 minutes. The other Chiltern climbs tend to be a lot sharper and shorter, with some great descents as well.

Verulam CC are sponsoring a cyclo sportive The Chiltern hundred Challenge. It offers 3 different routes

• the Gran Fondo of 171km (107 miles), with ascent of 2,620m
• Medio Fondo of 102km (63 miles) climbing 1,730m
• Corto Fondo incorporating the Amersham Road Cycling Club 80km (50 mile) challenge. An undulating ride for all-comers.

The 2008 edition will be held on 1st June. The start and finish will be at Great Missenden,

For more details and online entry see: Chiltern 100.org

I don’t do many cycle sportives but, I’m tempted by this Scottish cycle sportive, The Etape Caledonia. The 2 big advantages of this cyclo sportive are:

1. The Scottish scenary
2. Closed Roads

The organisers expect 3,000 cyclists to take part in the second running of this event. It Starts & Finishes in Pitlochry, Perthshire. The distance is a manageable 134 km / 81 miles with a total ascent 1,949m. It will take place on Sunday 18th May 2008

The sportive is also seeking to raise funds Action Medical Research - helping to find solutions to Premature Birth

You can view more details here: Etape Caledonia

and register online here

Photo of Scottish highlands by Tricky 

• Cycle Sportives UK 

In the past 10 years there has been a remarkable surge of interest in cycle sportives. In an era of declining race numbers, it has been good to see at least one area of cycling seeing growth.

Cycle Sportives are organised touring rides of a fixed distance and can be anything between 60K and 250Km. Usually cycle Sportives are organised in areas of natural beauty and offer a mixture of a challenging cycle challenge and a chance to enjoy an area of the country.

Usually, cycle sportives have a cut off time limit, but, these usually enable a range of different time periods. Cyclists do not necessarily start all at once, but the starting time can be spread over an hour to avoid bunching on the roads. Despite, the fact it is officially a touring ride, some riders like to treat it as an unofficial ‘race’ with some competition inevitably developing.

Training for Cyclo sportives 

Continue reading →