Sportive

Seven of the UK’s toughest sportives to ride in 2015

Britain's hardest sportives to add to your must-ride list

Ready for a new challenge?

There's no shortage of challenging sportives in the UK (Pic: Anthony Pease)
British climbs are shorter than their European counterparts, so you have to use your imagination to make the most of your time in the hills (Pic: Anothony Pease)
The Wiggle Dragon Ride is a long-standing fixture on the UK sportive calendar (Pic: Human Race)
The Fred Whitton Challenge is widely regarded as the UK's toughest sportive (Pic: Andrew Griffiths/Saddleback)
The Etape du Dales takes in some of Yorkshire's toughest climbs (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com)
Riders take in the scenery on the Tour of Wessex. (Pic: Tour of Wessex)
The sweeping hairpins of Bealach na Ba (Pic: Stefan Krause, via Wikimedia Commons)
The Exmoor Beast is the sting in the tail of the sportive calendar (pic: Exmoor Beast)

Ready for a new challenge?

While Britain may lack the Cols and Bergs of the fiercest European sportives, you won’t have to travel too far to take on a seriously tough ride, with plenty of leg-burning sportives scattered across the country.

From the brutally steep climbs of the Lake District to the Alpine-like Bealach na Ba in Scotland, there are sportives which make it their job to take in the most demanding stretches of road on these shores.

Fancy pitting yourself against one of the UK’s toughest rides in 2015? Here are seven leg-burners to add to your must-ride list. Got an event of your own to recommend? Tell us in the comments section below.