More than 1,500 riders are expected for Bike Blenheim Palace Sportive on Sunday August 19, part of a two-day Festival of Cycling.
Starting within the grounds of Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site, two routes of 60 or 100 miles will take riders through the Oxfordshire Cotswolds.
Both routes will head north west through the villages of Stonesfield, Charlbury and Stow-on-the-Wold on their way to a feed stop at Lower Swell, where the route splits. The 60-mile course will return to Blenheim Palace through Lower Slaughter, Little and Great Rissington, Great Barrington, through Shipton-under-Wychwood, Minster Lovell and on to Long Hanborough Combe.
The 100-mile route will head off from Lower Swell making its way to Buckland, Winchcombe, Guiting Power and back to Lower Swell from where it will follow the short route back to Blenheim Palace.
The Festival of Cycling also includes a 20km time trial, family rides and the Brompton World Championships. Sportive entry costs £35 – head to www.bikeblenheimpalace.com for more details.