Sportive

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

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

Exmoor Beast - October 18

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)

Exmoor Beast - October 18

A sting in the tail of the sportive season, the long-running Exmoor Beast comes with distances of 100 miles or 100km.

The latter packs in 4,170ft of climbing while the longer former includes more than 6,000ft of climbing on a route taking in much of the Exmoor National Park.

The climbs in this part of the world are short but steep, with double-digit gradients common, while the late-season date brings its own challenges – difficult weather and often slippery roads.

Entry opens very soon for riders who think they can ‘tame the beast’.

Website: Exmoor Beast