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Early May – Tour de Yorkshire Ride.
Held over the weekend of the Tour de Yorkshire Pro Race, The Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Ride offers a unique mix of Tour de France delivery combined with Yorkshire hospitality and beauty resulting in a cracking event. This is your chance to ride many of the same roads as the pros before they do, including the pro finish line, complete with support from the waiting crowds. It will allow you to get some punchy climbs in with fast & twisting descents. With 3 routes to chose from, you can ride at whatever pace you feel like depending on where you’re at with your Etape fitness.
For more information, click here
Late May – Struggle Dales
Struggle Dales is one of the hardest UK sportives in Yorkshire and a firm favourite here at All Things Ride. Starting in the spa town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, it takes riders over 108 miles of stunning yet unforgiving Yorkshire Dales terrain. This tough event has claimed cult status nationwide, with riders travelling hundreds of miles year after year to tackle this gruelling challenge. Cycling Weekly reviewed it as: “One of the best sportive events in the UK.” The Struggle Dales sportive route isn’t one to be taken lightly, but with prior training, grit and guts it’s achievable for almost any ambitious road cyclists and makes it ideal preparation for the Etape.
For more information, click here
Early June – Tour of Cambridgeshire Gran Fondo
Okay, it might seem odd to include a very flat Sportive last on this list but bear with us. With around 8000 riders taking on 80 miles over fully closed roads, this event allows you to practice and get used to riding alongside thousands of other cyclists. It also makes a nice change from constant hill rides. Trust us, after doing this event, you wont be overwhelmed by the scale of Etape du Tour while the experience of drafting in a large, fast group becomes very useful during the flatter sections of the Etape.
For more information, click here
Mid June – The Dragon Ride Wales
Run by the same organisation as the Etape du Tour, this one of the most iconic sportives in the UK (returning for its 15th year in 2018), The Dragon Ride has been selected by ASO as the perfect representation of the world’s most famous cycle event. In terms of preparing for the Etape, we recommend the Gran Fondo 223km distance which will give you a great day out in stunning Welsh countryside.
For more information, click here
This leaves you just under 4 weeks to fine tune your fitness and get anymore rides in before the Etape du Tour. Our packages start from £695pp for 3 nights including dinner, bed & breakfast, OTE Nutrition, airport transfers and post ride drinks at our hotel. Spaces are limited for this marquee sportive. Get in touch and take on a stage of the Tour de France! – enquiries@allthingsride.com