Dragon Ride announces Vitus as headline sponsor + 2019 route details

Vitus has been announced as the headline sponsor of the 2019 edition of the Dragon Ride so as well as a cool ride you should get the opportunity to cast your eye over some cool bikes at this year’s event too. 

The 16th edition of the Dragon Ride - yes, it’s really been going that long - will roll out from Margam Park on June the 9th and offers a choice of four routes: the MacMillan 100 – no prizes for guessing the distance of that one, okay it’s100Km; the Medio Fondo – 153km; the Gran Fondo – 223km; and the Dragon Devil Ride – 300km.

All of the rides give you the chance to sample some of the finest countryside that Wales has to offer; there’s also plenty of challenge on offer too. 

Apart from being a whopping 300km the Dragon Devil ride features 4,396m of climbing over some of the lumpiest terrain in the UK including climbs of the Bwlch, the Dragon’s Elbow, and Dragon’s staircase - the latter two being closed road climbs at 10.3% and 12.5% – there’s barely a flat section on the whole 300km. 

The Dragon Ride Gran Fondo offers 3,612m of climbing over its 223km and includes the Devil’s Elbow but not the Staircase. The Medio Fondo packs 2,417m of climbing in including the Bwlch, the Rhigos and the Devil’s Elbow; and the MacMillan 100 manages 1,563m of ascent with the Bwlch and Rhigos the two major climbs. So whichever route you pick you’d better bring your climbing legs. You can get full details on all of the routes here. 

That’s not all: if the Dragon on its own isn’t enough of a challenge you can also choose from either a two-day or three-day Dragon Tour - which is basically the Dragon Ride preceded by two 100km warm up rides. Sounds tasty. 

If the thought of riding the Dragon is putting some fire in your belly it’s worth striking while the iron is hot – early bird pricing for the events ends on Monday 4th Feb… so soon then. Current prices range from £49.50 for the MacMillan 100 up to £95.00 for the Dragon Devil. Dragon Tours are £100 for the two day (Sat/Sun) Tour or £130 for the three day (Fri/Sat/Sun) Tour. Full details from the Dragon Ride website.