Riding The Tour of Cambridgeshire

Paul Horta-Hopkins

BCS rode The Tour of Cambridgeshire, the UK’s first closed road, continental style Gran Fondo

Gran Fondos are big over in Europe, but what are they? Think London Marathon, a closed road event that anyone can enter, like a sportive, but at the front it’s a full on race. With cash prizes for the winners, competition is fierce and semi-pro teams contest these events with all the aggression you would expect in a ‘real’ pro race.

Anyone with a license from a UCI recognised body can race, categories are age, rather than ability, related and the Tour of Cambridgeshire had prizes for all age categories as well as a whopping £1500 prize for the first man and woman.

I must admit that though the thought of that first prize was very tempting, my days of winning bunch sprints are long gone – well I managed it once. No, I was more interested in the chance of qualifying for September’s UCI World Tour championship, which is taking place in Denmark for 2015… Read More >