Sportive

Five of the best Spring Classic sportives to ride (and three more closer to home)

Cobbles, climbs, gravé and pavé in France, Belgium, Italy and the UK

Ronde van Calderdale, Sunday April 5

Many of the Spring Classics have an accompanying sportive - and there's a growing choice of UK-based, Classic-inspired events, too (Pic: UK Cycle Classics Series)
Peter Sagan wheelied to victory at Gent-Wevelgem in 2013 (Pic: Sirotti)
The cobbled Koppenberg ascent ramps up to 20 per cent (Pic: Sirotti)
See what the fuss is all about by riding the Paris-Roubaix Challenge (Pic: Sirotti)
Liege-Bastogne-Liege concluded the spring Classics (pic: Sirotti)
The 2013 edition of Milan-San Remo was beset by bad weather (Pic: Sirotti)
Rapha’s Hell of the North takes riders off-road to tackle Hertfordshire's roughest roads (Pic: Rapha)
The brutal cobbled climb of the Corkscrew is the highlight of the Cheshire Cobbled Classic (Pic: Cycle Classics)
The Hough is one of a number of tough cobbled climbs in Calderdale (pic: Tim Green, via Flickr Creative Commons)

Ronde van Calderdale, Sunday April 5

Easter Sunday, the same day as the Tour of Flanders, sees Yorkshire’s cobbled equivalent, the Ronde van Calderdale roll out.

Numerous cobbled climbs feature on the fully signposted sportive, where retro and vintage kit is welcomed – and a prize is on offer for the best dressed.

There are routes of 115km and 55km, rolling both out from the Speen Valley Sports College in Roberttown. Entry is limited to 500 riders, with ten testing cobbled climbs packed into the shorter route and 13 on the longer route.

Routes: 55km, 115km
Prices: £12/£21
Website: Kirklees Cycling Academy