Following on from Bath CC riders successful and plentiful participation at numerous sportives in 2009 both at home and in Europe, some riders from Bath CC are considering to repeat this exciting experience.
A cyclosportive falls between a traditional road race and a non-competitive randonnee or Audax event. Cyclo Sportives (sometimes spelled Cyclo Sportifs but correctly Cyclosportives, since the full name is randonnee cyclosportive and randonnee is a female noun in French) are long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling events. They are the cycling cousin of running's marathon: as with the 26 mile event, rather than racing other participants, sportives see many cyclists use the event to challenge themselves in a personal battle against the distance and then ultimately, the clock. The time they take to complete the course is recorded. Generally there is an upper time limit within which the course must be completed (unlike randonnee, there is no lower limit preventing riders from completing the course quickly). The already lengthy course will traditionally include climbs and difficult riding conditions, adding to the merit of the event. Although sportives are not races, entrants' times are recorded and riders are given their finishing position. This can encourage the fastest cyclists to push the pace, with faster riders working together to increase speed in a pro-peloton style. The majority of riders will simply be happy to complete the distance within the time allowance. It is common in France and Italy for prizes to be awarded to the winner and to those winning age-related categories.
We would like to continue to report the times achieved by our club participants and perhaps some of their stories narrating the challenges that these long rides present to all of us who are brave enough to ride them. Please continue to submit your results and stories for future publication and reporting
The list of events shown below are for sportives held 'locally'. Please contact Mario for further details on these or suggestions on alternative venues as at the time of writing the calendar was not finalised.
Details of events held in previous years can be found 2009
Please contact the Road Race sec for further details, via RoadRace (at) bathcc (dot) net