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Toughest UK sportive The Monster set to accept entries
The Monster, tipped to be the hardest sportive in the UK, is set start accepting entries this Sunday for 50 brave riders.
The circular course, which covers 190km and 4,200m of Welsh-heartland climbing, will roll out from Llangadog in the county of Carmarthenshire on Saturday August 30.
Willing participants can stake their claim to one of the limited places from 7pm on Sunday through cycling events company and The Monster organiser, A Cycling’s, website.
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The organisers are advertising the event under the tag-line ‘something to rip your legs off’, and have declared their ride the toughest sportive in the UK, even claiming prominence over the Fred Whitton Challenge, in the Lake District, which put two participants in hospital earlier this month.
The numbers appear to stack up. The Monster trumps the Fred Whitton Challenge’s 180km and 3300m of climbing in both distance and height, also giving the 300km Wiggle Dragon Devil sportive’s 3,437m of climbing a run for its money.
If that’s not enough to convince you of the brutality of this sportive, the ride’s profile can be seen here.
Entrance to the event will set you back £26, but with that you should expect the standard sportive amenities such as route marking, a supplementary GPX navigation file and individual rider timing.
Upon completion of the event under the 10.5 hour time limit you will also receive a novelty t-shirt to celebrate your achievement.
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If you can’t make it to the finish line, there’s no shame in it, A Cycling are expecting retirees and are running a broom wagon to follow the ride and sweep up any stragglers.
But, if you managed to tame The Monster and fancied more, or you’re just a stickler for punishment, your participation will grant you free entry to the following day’s Grimpée Mynydd Ddu.
So, are you brave enough? Enter on Sunday at www.acycling.com/tours/the-monster
Latest Comments
- Roentgen 3 sec ago
Pogi makes a good point....
- chrisonabike 4 min 41 sec ago
True, but constituent percentages (or partial pressures) would be quite significant; I think I'd want to know before encountering an area with an...
- Hirsute 17 min 37 sec ago
Thanks for the info. I hope prices will be down by the time I need a new one....
- lesterama 17 min 10 sec ago
If your bike's not ugly enough already, you now know what to add next.
- brooksby 21 min 40 sec ago
I've got a Brooks B17 on my new bike and it's the most comfortable saddle I've owned
- brooksby 22 min 26 sec ago
I read somewhere (may have been on this very site?) that the parking charges will raise just enough money to pay for the changes that drivers want...
- chrisonabike 47 min 52 sec ago
The parking (for free on public roads) and the people are one....
- chrisonabike 3 hours 23 min ago
Agreed - but with a bit more set-back from roundabout. Also how well respected is this in practice?...
- muhasib 13 hours 35 min ago
"the cost to rebuild the M25 junction 10/A3 Wisley interchange is £317 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2025. "
- mark1a 13 hours 59 min ago
I think they did, from memory back in the 70s/80s... haven't seen one for years though, our current milkman uses a standard van, albeit hybrid.
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17 comments
Website for it is down ?
It's a shame that bike rides feel they have to market themselves on how hard you're supposed to have to be to do them rather than the beauty and tranquility of the countryside for example. It looks really lovely in those photos but look at the comments on this forum, it's like a cycling version of the four yorkshiremen sketch; 'you only climbed 3,000 metres today, you were lucky, I ride to work at the top of K2, and I come home for my lunch!' . There's more to cycling than w##king over your garmin you know.
You don't need an organised ride to do huge distance and vertical ascent, just motivation and a map. Don't let folk tell you where to ride, find out for yourself.
I agree. I find the big fun of organised rides over just getting out on the road is other people - riders, random people we meet along the way - not the ride itself. Props to the organisers on this one, looks fun, and more a rider's ride than a commercial thing.
Agreed - sportives can be over-rated but the social aspect is a pull factor. A better option in my opinion is to join a local cycling club and do weekend rides (with those all-important halfway cakes stops!)
This Lake District sportive on 29th June has to be in the running too. 4000m in 91 miles including all the iconic Lakeland climbs. It also accepts more than 50 entries! http://www.seismic-events.co.uk/tourofthehighpasses.html
Not quite the Bowland Badass is it?
The Ace 250 in the Australian southern highlands is 6700 metres over 250 km.
http://app.strava.com/activities/109000864
Those pics look very much like the Abergwesyn mountain road to Tregaron (including the Devils Staircase). i.e. the middle 150km of the 300km 4950m Yr Elynedd Audax, which returns via the mountain road to Rhayader. And as that is held annually in the usually foul weather of early April, I'd have to think about which would be tougher...
If the size of the food drop box wasn't limited, I'd be up for it
Blimey, all people do is whinge on here. How about some positive reaction to a guy trying to do something a little different. The offer of the 2nd event on day two for example or the delivering your personal refuel packs to drink stops for you...
Makes a change not to see the likes of wiggle cashing in on 2000+ riders for twice the price in it for the bottom line profit.
Do they measure climbs differently in the UK or something?! In Italy a 200k ride with 4000m climbing include 2-3 proper mountains and a big hill.... quite how they can amass the same in the uk in the same distance I don't get...
Lots and lots of hills.
Coast to coast in a day (http://www.opencycling.com/) is 150mi/240km and ~4500m ascent.
Really well organized too
Some of the tougher audax rides - for ascent. I don't think that raw ascent figures tell the whole story
Hard Boiled 300km - starts at 2am, 4400m ascent, uses horrible lanes. Here's my blog post on it from last year
Merse and Moors 300km - 4200m ascent
Porkers 400km - 5900m ascent
Kernow and SW 600 - 8200m ascent. Here's some photos of it from a couple of years ago
Swan with Two Necks 600 - 8000m ascent
Mae Mr Pickwick...600km - 9500m ascent
There's also a 1300km ride in Scotland with nearly 18000m of ascent but that's more like a multiday tour
You can find details of all these at http://www.aukweb.net/events/
Well at £26 for 50 people, you can't accuse them of being in it for the big bucks.
Any details of the route?
There are none on the website (that I can see).