Hardest Sportive in the UK?

[montage]

Well...what is it?

 

[Noodley]

No idea, and it depends how fast you cycle as well...

 

[yello]

Different strokes for different folks I'd imagine. I'll be interested in the 'whys', rather than the names, for this one

 

[lukesdad]

They can all be as hard as you want to make them i.e. as the pace you ride them at. Unless you ve ridden them all at a similar pace in similar conditions there could be no diffinitve answer.

But I could be wrong............ Unusual, but I could

 

[Svendo]

OK, I'll bite first and name some names.
Not ridden either but on paper I'd say:

Fred Whitton - 180km and 3950m climbing, 30% max gradient
Dave Lloyd Mega - 193km and 3200m climbing, 30% max gradient

are two likely candidates. (Stats are probably not exact, but in the ball park.)

 

[asterix]

Have never done a Sportive but I hear that famous hard ones are:

Fred Whitton
Etape du Dales
Dragon Ride

Used to do an audax ride called the Moors 'illy Imperial which was quite hard but not a sportive FWIW.

 

[fimm]

The (long) Bealach na Ba, and the Ullapool Sportive.
I suspect the Fred Whitton might be harder, though.

 

[Ajay]

Not as famous as the high profile events, but Le Terrier Hors Category 102 miles is a brutal, brutal route!

 

[Nebulous]

I don't know much about Sportifs, with the Etape Caledonia this weekend being the only one I have ever done, but the course for this new one from Deeside Thistle terrifies me.

Deeside Thistle

Route profile for the hard riders 100 mile event.

Hard riders profile

 

[asterix]

Check out the Fred Whitton then..

http://www.fredwhittonchallenge.org.uk/profile.php

I don't like the look of those spikes..

 

[eck]

I don't know much about Sportifs, with the Etape Caledonia this weekend being the only one I have ever done, but the course for this new one from Deeside Thistle terrifies me.

Deeside Thistle

Route profile for the hard riders 100 mile event.

Hard riders profile

Looks good, I didn't know it was on.

From Rhynie to Gairnshiel is a bit of the Snow Roads audax route, from about 125 to 215km. The Snow Roads is 300km (186 miles) with 4,800m of climbing.

Nebulous, it's a shame you've just missed it, it was on Saturday. Look out for next year's event, and be afraid, be very afraid.

 

[tincaman]

How about the Darmoor Classic

 

[zizou]

I've not ridden it but the Fred Whitton seems to be the hardest - Hardknott after about 90 miles sounds damn hard, even when the weather is good, but the weather this year by all accounts was pretty awful making the ride even harder.

 

[aberal]

OK, I'll bite first and name some names.
Not ridden either but on paper I'd say:

Fred Whitton - 180km and 3950m climbing, 30% max gradient
Dave Lloyd Mega - 193km and 3200m climbing, 30% max gradient

are two likely candidates. (Stats are probably not exact, but in the ball park.)

Ullapool - 209kms and 3752m of ascent profile
Bealach Mor - 145kms and 2925m of ascent

Dunno what the maximum gradients of these two are are.

But they all sound much of a muchness and all sound COMPLETELY hideous.

Looking like a toss-up between Fred Whitton and Ullapool.

 

[MrRidley]

Looks good, I didn't know it was on.

From Rhynie to Gairnshiel is a bit of the Snow Roads audax route, from about 125 to 215km. The Snow Roads is 300km (186 miles) with 4,800m of climbing.

Nebulous, it's a shame you've just missed it, it was on Saturday. Look out for next year's event, and be afraid, be very afraid.

And a great event it is too, although those last two climbs before Braemar, i'll never forget them.