The organisers have announced the route of the Tour of the Cornfields, to be held on Sunday 2nd September. The 56 mile mixture of quiet roads and farm tracks and bridleways starts at Whaddon in South Cambridegshire and features a gentle road section warm up. The route heads through Meldreth and skirts the edge of Orwell heading to the first off-road ‘zone’ of the day, Cracknow Hill. This is the steepest climb of the day and may provide a rude awakening to some. However it is possible to tackle it fairly comfortably on cyclo-cross gears. The route then heads for the Mare Way which takes riders onto the Wimpole Estate and back off via Crane’s Lane.

After the quiet village of Kingston, riders tackle two zones at the furthest north point of the route on the Harcamlow Way. This leads to Bourn from where riders head off to traverse the infamous Porter’s Way. This remote track is very sheltered and can remain wet and slippery in all but the driest of spells. This directs riders to the Hatley Park estate sections, which provide long off-road zones with lengthy gradual descents and climbs. This includes the village of Croydon and the visit to the deserted Medieval Village of Clopton via the Clopton Way.

Eventually riders emerge off the ridge at the sleepy village of Wrestlingworth. A bumpy bridleway leads riders to Eyeworth and Dunton and on to Green Lane, another leafy Byway. This will take riders through to Hinxworth before they climb to the highest point of the ride at Newnham Hill. In South Cambridgeshire the high point is all relative at 82m! However, the path is chalky and can be treacherous when wet. A quick descent drops riders into Ashwell and the start of the long Ashwell Street zone. This lengthy Byway is known by locals as the Strep and is a flat fast blast to Bassingbourn before a short section of quiet road leads riders back to the HQ.

Enter for this event via www.riderhq.com.