The Fred Whitton Challenge is a charity cyclosportive event held annually in the English Lake District, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, Cumbria's air ambulances, the mountain rescue service and various youth cycling projects. It is held in memory of Fred Whitton, racing secretary of the Lakes Road Club, who died of cancer at the age of 50 in 1998. The event started in 1999 and has been held every year since, except for 2001 and 2020 when it was cancelled due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic and the international COVID-19 pandemic respectively.
The event has raised over £2,000,000 (two million pounds) and is Macmillan's biggest fundraiser in Cumbria. [1]
Starting and finishing in Grasmere, the route is 183 kilometres (114 mi) long, with 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) elevation gain. [2] 2,500 riders take part in the challenge. The route heads for Ambleside, before crossing Kirkstone Pass. [3] It descends through Glenridding, on the shore of Ullswater, before heading for Keswick. It then crosses Honister Pass, before reaching Buttermere and climbing Newlands Pass. From here, the route takes in Whinlatter Pass out of Braithwaite. Riders then head south down the Western Lake District, including climbing Cold Fell out of Ennerdale Bridge. Finally, the route turns eastward towards the finish, taking riders through Eskdale, crossing the famous Hardknott and Wrynose Passes (after almost 161 kilometres (100 mi) of riding) and then past Blea Tarn, down through Langdale to the finish in Grasmere. [4]
The Tour of Flanders, also known as De Ronde, is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organized by Flanders Classics. Its nickname is Vlaanderens Mooiste. First held in 1913, the Tour of Flanders had its 100th edition in 2016.
Col du Tourmalet is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of the way up. The village of Barèges lies on the western side, above the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
The Coast to Coast or Sea to Sea Cycle Route (C2C) is a 140 miles (230 km) cycle route opened in 1994. Combining sections of National Cycle Route 7, 14, 71 and 72; it runs from Whitehaven or Workington on the west coast of Cumbria, and then crosses the Lake District and the Pennines in the north of England by using a variety of both on and off-road trails, ending on the north-east coast in Tyne and Wear at Sunderland or Tynemouth. Sustrans state that it is the UK's most popular challenge cycle route, it is designed for the whole range of cyclists, from families to cycling club riders. Although a challenge with some hard climbs—the highest point being over 609 m (1,998 ft)—the C2C is completed by an average of between 12,800 and 15,000 cyclists every year.
Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the Tour of Flanders.
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term Gran Fondo is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and some other English-speaking countries.
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, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Ireland, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Malaysia.
Vätternrundan is a 315 km (196 mi) cyclosportive event held annually over two weekends in June in Sweden. In 2011, 27,973 cyclists passed the finish line; 18,272 on the 300 km (190 mi) course, 3,686 on the 150 km (93 mi) course, and 6,015 on the 100 km (62 mi) course). The 315 km course circles Lake Vättern, starting and finishing in the town of Motala. Approximately 20 percent of the participants are non-Swedish and in 2011, 37 nations were represented on the course.
The Time-Megeve-Mont-Blanc is a cyclosportive that takes place early June in the northern part of the French Alps, 45 km from Geneva. This cycling event attracts 2,000 riders on a 140-km route that starts from the valley town of Sallanches and includes three passes: Col de la Colombiere, Col des Aravis, and Col des Saisies. The event finishes in the ski resort of Megève.
The Maratona dles Dolomites, is an annual single-day road bicycle race covering seven mountain passes in the Dolomites. Open to amateur cyclists, the Maratona—with 9,000 riders chosen from 30,000 applicants, from over 70 nations—is one of the biggest Italian Granfondo bicycle races. National Geographic described it as "one of the biggest, most passionate, and most chaotic bike races on Earth."
Dragon Ride L'Etape Wales by Le Tour de France is a cyclosportive event based in South Wales, UK.
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.
Lomond Roads Cycling Club is a cycling club based in Clydebank, Scotland. The club was founded in 1933. Their current clubroom is in the Double L Centre, Jowitt Avenue, Clydebank.
The 2013 Tour de Suisse was the 77th running of the Tour de Suisse cycling stage race. It started on 8 June with an individual time trial in Quinto and ended on 16 June after another individual time trial in Flumserberg; in total, the race consisted of nine stages. It was the seventeenth race of the 2013 UCI World Tour season.
The 2015 Il Lombardia was a one-day cycling classic that took place around Lake Como in Lombardy in northern Italy on 4 October 2015. It was the 109th edition of the Il Lombardia one-day cycling race and was the final cycling monument of the 2015 season, as well as being the final race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The race was organised by RCS Sport, who also organise the Giro d'Italia.
The 2015 Tour de Yorkshire was a cycling stage race that took place in Yorkshire in May 2015. It was the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire and was organised by Welcome to Yorkshire and the Amaury Sport Organisation, who also organised the Yorkshire stages of the 2014 Tour de France. The race started in Bridlington on 1 May and ended in Leeds on 3 May. It included three stages and was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour.
The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Tour started in Utrecht, Netherlands on 4 July and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 26 July. On 21 July, between stages 16 and 17 there was a rest day in Gap.
The definition of ultra-distance cycling is far more vague than in ultra running or in ultra-triathlon. Any bike race or ride 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 or ride 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 Pologne was a road cycling stage race that took place between 29 July and 4 August in Poland. It was the 74th edition of the Tour de Pologne and was the twenty-seventh event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. The race was won by Dylan Teuns riding for BMC Racing Team.
The men's individual road race event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 24 July 2021 on a course starting at Musashinonomori Park in Tokyo, and ending at the Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture. 128 cyclists from 57 nations competed, with 85 completing the course.
The 2021 Vuelta a España was a three-week cycling race which took place in Spain between 14 August and 5 September 2021. It was the 76th edition of the Vuelta a España and the third and final grand tour of the 2021 men's road cycling season. The race departed from Burgos and finished in Santiago de Compostela.
