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Vélo North closed road sportive launches - 1st of September in Durham
Vélo North, the first closed road sportive in the North of England has launched today. The ride which is supported by Durham County Council will take place on Sunday 1st of September through the Durham countryside culminating in a finish in the centre of the historic city of Durham.
Riders have the choice of either 50 or 100 mile routes which takes them through the rolling countryside of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Pre-registration is open now at www.velonorth.com – entries go live on the 7th of March with priority going to those that have pre-registered – pre-registration shuts at midnight on the 6th of March (a week today). There is also the option to enter through Vélo North’s lead charity partner Prostate Cancer UK for £20 – you’ll then need to raise a minimum of £200 in donations for the charity.
There are six food stops on the 100 mile route where those taking part will also find mechanical assistance, toilets and first aid, and three on the 50 mile route. The 100 miler will treat you to a lumpy 2,200m of climbing while the 50 dishes out 1,400 - so don’t expect many flat bits on that either.
No details as yet on pricing for general entries for the rides, but as its name suggests Vélo North is being organised by the same people behind next year’s Vélo South, and this spring’s Vélo Birmingham & Midlands in what they are calling the Vélo Series – so we’d expect pricing to be similar. Closed roads sportives usually have a more premium price tag – although as with Vélo Birmingham & Midlands all riders in Vélo North will get a free event photo plus a free pre-ride bronze level service worth £30 from Cycle Republic (who also supply on-course mechanical support) – plus of course all the usual sportive essentials: free food stops, goodie bags, and a medal. As with the other rides in the series as well as general entries business can also enter a Business 100 Ride.
Vélo North Business 100 entry option which provides companies with the opportunity to enjoy a VIP participation experience coupled with exclusive training events and networking opportunities.
Cllr Ossie Johnson, Cabinet member for tourism, culture, leisure and rural issues at Durham County Council, said: “In a year when we are celebrating the power of culture and sport to revitalise communities and bring people together through the #Durham19 campaign, we are delighted to be a part of the Vélo series.
“Vélo North is not only a fantastic opportunity to showcase the beautiful and varied landscapes that exist within County Durham, but it will bring significant economic benefits to our region. It also has the potential to inspire more people to take up cycling and lead healthier lifestyles.“
“I would encourage anyone thinking about taking part to register their interest now
Keen cyclist and Vélo Series ambassador Martin Johnson CBE, who is participating in Vélo North, said: “As a cycling fanatic, it’s hugely exciting to see another closed road sportive come to the UK. Opportunities to ride on closed roads are incredibly rare and having ridden the inaugural Vélo Birmingham, I know first-hand how exhilarating the experience can be - I can’t wait to be one of 15,000 riders lining up in Durham City Centre on Sunday September 1.”
He added: “My advice to anyone who is tempted to enter but is doubting their ability to complete 50 or 100 miles would be to just take the plunge and go for it! I speak from experience when I say that with the right training these are definitely achievable goals and the feeling when you cross the finish line will be worth all the hard work.”
For more information and to pre-register before midnight on 6th March visit www.velonorth.com
road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.
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15 comments
I think Benty is more concerned with the ban on recumbent cycles. Seems odd to me too.
Plenty of other events are fine with them. I even passed a bloke on a cycle scooter on one very hilly sportif. God knows why he wanted to though.
Bentrider, they don't mean disc brakes if that was what you were referring to..it's actual disc wheels as in not spoked. Sorry if I've stated the obvious and misunderstood your post.
Banned again; bikes with disc wheels*, recumbent bicycles, electronic bikes of any kind, unicycles, penny farthings, tricycles, quad cycles, BMX bikes, fixed gear bikes / singlespeeds / fixies (allowed with two independent brakes and a freehub) and hand bikes / cycles. Any unconventional handlebars, including triathlon bars, aero bars, clip-ons, prayer bars, Spinaci bars and cow bars. (Health and Safety reasons, of course)
So much for the "something for everyone" broad church of cycling!
Well I complained and said they were being both Ageist by baring older riders who need a bit of help up the hill by banning ebikes and were being Disabled Discriminatory by banning Trikes & Recumbant on the grounds they were restricting people with disbability from a simple balance problem to amputees. AND IT'S WORKED!!!
Well Partly: I got an email back today saying legit Ebikes & Recumbants are now included but they haven't changed the T&Cs to allow for Trikes.
Any disabled riders out there want to challange them?
hello [at] velonorth.com - Becki - Participant Services Manager
North? That's south scotland...
I am from Newcastle (Where Venom come from) and I can confirm Durham is in the North of England. Scotland is North of England, but it is not the North of England. The South of Scotland is North of the North of England, and the North of England is South of the South of Scotland, but it is also not the South of Scotland.
...The South of Scotland is North of the North of England, and the North of England is South of the South of Scotland, but it is also not the South of Scotland.
[/quote]
If only t'were that simple. After all, the west of the south of Scotland is south of the east of the north of England., but still north ofEngland, ....
It's north of Watford Gap which makes it basically the bit of the map labelled "northern monkeys"
I await the reaction from the anti cyclist brigade affected by the routes. The last 2 have not been pretty.
The thing is those roads are so quiet most of the time they may as well be closed. And for those of us who live nearby any day *except* when there are 15000 Sky-kit wearing amateurs riding in the hills is perfectly fine as it is.
Hard to see so many signing up though, especially since locally organsised events with much better routes such as the Winking Sheep struggle for numbers.
Closed roads tend to attract a lot of people, even when those roads are otherwise quiet as you rightly point out. I think they will get a reasonable turn out, its got a lot of good points on the route, but maybe less than 10,000 entrants id guess. I dont think you can compare large events like this or the Cyclone out of Newcastle to the Winking Sheep, id not heard of that so maybe not as much advertising, and the website could be a bit slicker maybe, if thats what they want anyway (and not that a slick website has anything remotely to do with how well an event will be ran! but first appearances subconciously impact peoples opinions).
Indeed i agree you cant compare the events (size, organisation etc.) and I'm sure after the success (!) of previous velo events in the Midlands and the South it will be perfectly organised with no local objections...
I was though comparing the routes which for me would be the reason to take part in such a ride - the winking sheep (as an example, there have been others over the years eg the Wiggle Hell of The North, Etape Pennines) has a far superior route with a much better selection of the savage climbs of the area and fewer transitional (dull) miles from the start in Durham to the countryside.
Tosser. Just the sort of response expected from your average club kit wanker.
So, doesn't that mean that aggrieved locals will launch some sort of legal challenge on or about the 14th August to defend their God-given right to drive to the shops or something? (or is that only in Surrey...?).
As a keen cyclist and resident of Sussex, it grieves me to point out that the sad wankers that were objecting to Velosouth were mainly from Sussex...