Test ride De Rosa's 'race bike of the year' at Performance Cycles' mini sportive

How have those early season miles been going? Yeah, us too. Help is at hand though in the guise of Performance Cycles' mini sportive series, the last of which is this Sunday (13 February) heading out from their HQ in Poulton near Cirencester. The mini sportives are stripped down events to help you get some riding in early in the year; the £6 entry fee doesn't stretch to electronic timing but you get a choice of signed 50 or 70 mile routes, mechanical backup, SIS energy products at the start and hot drinks and cake when you get back.

On top of that, there's also the opportunity to have a go on some shiny new De Rosas at this weekend's bash. Andy at Performance Cycles told us he's hoping to have a couple of R838 bikes, the Athena build of which was recently voted Cycling Weekly's race bike of the year. There'll also be a Milanino to try, and provided you can stump up some security (car keys for a car that's worth more than the bike, for instance...) you can get a quick lap in on one of the test loops from the store.

You can pre-register for the sportive at www.minisportiveseries.co.uk, entries are limited to 100 and providing there's space you can sign up on the day. If you fancy giving one of the De Rosas a spin then it's probably a good idea to give the store a bell on 0845 634 8718 and let them know you won't be bringing your beaten up old fiesta as security...