We’re into the thick of the sportive season and the UK’s most popular event – the Wiggle Dragon Ride – takes place this Sunday, with Team GB sprinter Matt Crampton among the starters, swapping the track for Tarmac in south Wales.
The sportive, which saw all 3,000 entries snapped up within three hours in December, celebrates two firsts in 2012, with the start/finish moved to Margam Park, near Port Talbot, while the event is also part of the UCI Golden Bike World Series for the first time.
UCI Golden Bike status confirms the Wiggle Dragon Ride as the UK’s premier sportive and identifies it alongside popular overseas sportives such as the Cape Argus Cycle Tour, La Pinarello and the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge.
Riders will tackle one of three routes – 206km, 125km and 37km – with the Gran Fondo course, which packs in 2,645m of climbing, set to include Black Mountain and the return of the ‘hill with no name’, (Bryn Melyn or Devil’s Elbow), as well as the signature climbs of the Bwlch and Rhigos, plus Cimla and Cray, all of which will run in the opposite direction compared to recent years.
Nicholas Rusling of organisers Human Race said: “The Wiggle Dragon Ride is a stand out event in the UK’s cycling calendar for thousands of keen cyclists and a great notch on anyone’s frame post to achieve.
“A remarkable handful are doing it now for the eighth time. We have put in a few alterations to this year’s event to maintain the world class, UCI Golden Bike standard delivery, and are really excited about how they will go down with the riders.”
Good luck to everyone tackling this weekend’s Dragon Ride!
