HOT on the heels of Geraint Thomas’s fantastic victory in the Tour de France, cycling enthusiasts have a great opportunity to get on their bikes and tackle a challenging event in stunning Cotswolds scenery this weekend.
Rise Above, the official sportive of Olympian and former world champion Mark Cavendish, comes to the area on Sunday, August 5, with three new and exciting routes around Cheltenham and the Cotswolds Area of Natural Beauty.
Mark - who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2011 - will officially start the event, which will provide a rigorous test for all riders, similar to those challenges professional riders face every time they race.
He will also complete one of the rides that he has helped create before heading back to hand out medals. This means that participants will have an opportunity to meet and ride with the man described by L’Equipe newspaper as the Tour de France’s best sprinter of all time!
The three circular routes on offer are:
• Enthusiast – 50 kilometres with 697m elevation gain
• Purist – 105km with 1,388m of elevation gain
• Extremist – 153km with 1,845m of elevation gain
This year’s Rise Above Sportive route starts and finishes at Cheltenham Racecourse, and all three routes will tackle the arduous Cleeve Hill, which featured in last year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain race, and includes sections that reach a 25 per cent gradient.
Riders who sign up for the two longer distances will also test themselves on the energy-sapping Snowshill climb - a three-kilometre ascent that gradually increases in severity - which formed part of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour in June, having also previously featured in the men’s Tour.
Riders will also pass through scenic locations such as Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water.
Local tourism manager Sally Graff will be riding in the event and will also be on hand should Mark Cavendish need any tips on local places to visit while he is in the area.
She is anticipating a great day out for cyclists in the Cotswolds: “Cotswolds Tourism has been working extensively with local cycle groups, the Tour of Britain organisers and local professional cyclists to showcase the area on TV and publications and we look forward to this event which encourages local cyclists to experience routes suitable for those with a good level of skill.
The Rise Above Sportive event will also serve as a good training opportunity for me as I prepare to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats for my holiday while raising money for a local charity.”
Places for the 2018 Sportive are now on general sale via the Rise Above Sportive website riseabovesportive.com
Entries cost £45, but discounts are available using the code COTSWOLDS10RA. Online entries close at Midday on Thursday 2 August
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