Challenge riding is a form of cycling where the riders challenge themselves rather than each other. Some challenge rides are charity events or pledge rides. Some are organised as pre- or early-season training events. Others, often referred to as Randonnées, brevets or Audax events occur simply for the sake of the challenge; cyclosportive events allow cyclists to test themselves over challenging race routes used, for example L'Étape du Tour in the Tour de France. Most challenge rides are open to all comers, but a few require qualification to attend.
The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group, EPA. It organises sporting events including the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Paris–Nice professional cycle road races, and the Dakar Rally. In 2008 it organised the Central Europe Rally, a rally raid endurance race in Romania and Hungary.
L'Étape du Tour is an organised mass participation cyclosportive event that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), in conjunction with Vélo Magazine, it takes place each July, normally on a Tour rest day.
Randonneuring is a long-distance cycling sport with its origins in audax cycling. In randonneuring, riders attempt courses of 200 km or more, passing through predetermined "controls" (checkpoints) every few tens of kilometres. Riders aim to complete the course within specified time limits, and receive equal recognition regardless of their finishing order. Riders may travel in groups or alone as they wish, and are expected to be self-sufficient between controls. A randonneuring event is called a randonnée or brevet, and a rider who has completed a 200 km event is called a randonneur. The international governing body for randonneuring is Audax Club Parisien (ACP), which works with other randonneuring organisations worldwide through Les Randonneurs Mondiaux (RM). Randonneuring is popular in France, and has a following in the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, United States, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, India and Japan.
La Marmotte is an annual, one-day cyclosportive event in France for amateur cyclists. It is named after the large ground squirrel that is known to inhabit the slopes of the final climb to the finish in Alpe d'Huez. The first event held in 1982 makes it one of the oldest cyclosportive events of its kind and in France it is often called La Doyenne, borrowing the nickname given to the professional road race Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Marmotte remains one of the most popular cyclosportive events today in Europe, with interest in participation exceeding the 7000 places available.
Michael Brian Cookson OBE is the former president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), having been elected to the post in September 2013 at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships.
The UCI Golden Bike is a series of Cyclosportive cycling races. At present it consists of 7 events in 7 countries – 5 in Europe, 1 in Africa and 1 in Oceania – all selected by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as being the best cycling for all events in the world.
RCS Sport is a sport and media company that operates mainly in Italy in the sports sector, as part of RCS MediaGroup. It organises some of Italy's biggest road cycling events, including the Giro d'Italia, Milan–San Remo and Tirreno–Adriatico, as well as non-cycling events such as the Milan Marathon. RCS Sport was started in 1989 as an independent company from La Gazzetta dello Sport while continuing to be its “organizational arm”. It also offers consultancy and partnership for other sports organisers, helping with events like Lega Basket Serie A and The Color Run.
The Etape du Dales is a cyclosportive held in May each year, in the Yorkshire Dales in the UK. It was originally established as an alternative to the oversubscribed Fred Whitton Challenge; like the Fred Whitton, the Etape du Dales is a long day's ride over steep hills, and the proceeds go to charity - the Dave Rayner fund.
A century ride is a road cycling ride of 100 miles or more within 12 hours, usually as a cycling club-sponsored event. Many cycling clubs sponsor an annual century ride as both a social event for cyclists and as a fund-raiser for the club’s other activities.
The Women's road race of the 2012 UCI Road World Championships cycling event took place on 22 September in the province of Limburg, Netherlands.
A Gran Fondo is a type of long-distance road cycling ride originating in Italy in 1970, and roughly translates into English as "Big Ride". Italian Gran Fondos are officially defined and certified by the Italian Cycling Federation as a bicycle event at least 120 kilometres (75 mi) long, and are individually chip-timed races with prizes for the fastest riders in each category. The starts are done en masse, and the format allows for riders of every level to participate, much like a marathon, where most participants are competing against the clock instead of other participants. Traditionally a large meal is served to the participants at the end of the event, and roads are shut down.
The 2013 Tour de Romandie was the 67th running of the Tour de Romandie cycling stage race. The race consisted of six stages, beginning with a prologue stage in Le Châble on 23 April and concluded with another individual time trial, in Geneva, on 28 April. It was the fourteenth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season.
The London–Surrey Classic is an annual 193 km (119.9 mi) men's professional one-day road bicycle racing starting and finishing in London and routed via the picturesque Surrey Hills. The first race of its kind was the London–Surrey Cycle Classic, on 14 August 2011, a 1.2 classification 140 km preparatory event for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was won by sprinter Mark Cavendish. The men's and women's Olympic road races were held on a longer variation of the same course the following year. On 4 August 2013, the race found a permanent home as part of the Prudential RideLondon weekend, a two-day cycling festival held in London, a legacy event of the Olympics.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race longer than a century ride, which is 100 miles (160 km), is sometimes considered to be ultra-distance cycling. However, such events are relatively common, so using a longer distance to define the category is more useful, such as any race that is longer than 200 kilometres (120 mi), 300 kilometres (190 mi) or even a double century, 200 miles (320 km).
The 2017 Tour de Romandie was a road cycling stage race that took place between 25 and 30 April in Romandie, Switzerland. It was the 71st edition of the Tour de Romandie and the nineteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.
Natalie Kerwin is a New Zealand professional racing cyclist who rides for Team Virtu Pro–Véloconcept.
The 2018 Paris–Nice was a road cycling stage race that took place between 4 and 11 March 2018 in France. It was the 76th edition of the Paris–Nice and the sixth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour.
Wicklow 200 is Ireland’s longest running mass participation bike ride or ‘sportive’. The event, also termed a ‘Gran Fondo’, has been promoted annually since 1982 by the Irish Veteran Cyclists Association (IVCA) and attracts up to 3000 riders annually.
