A new British-based company has set up with the aim of taking the pain away from booking for European sportives.
Sportive Breaks launched this month, selling sportive entries and the best cycle-friendly hotels for events such as the Etape du Tour and Paris-Roubaix sportive.
Driven by his own frustrating personal experiences of trying to plan the logistics for travelling to European sportives, co-founder Phil Sears hopes to make cycling travel much easier.
“There is nothing better than a weekend away in Europe riding a top sportive with a group of friends,” he said.
“But for years cyclists have had to put up with bad hotels and complicated logistics plans involving leaving cars in multiple places just because they had not booked everything within five seconds of the sportive being announced.
“In April I was due to ride a sportive in Belgium. The hotel had no bike storage facility but a secure car park. I was advised that it would be fine to leave my bike on the car’s bike rack. It was stolen that night.
“Then at the Etape this year the closest we could book a hotel to the start or finish was over an hour away. By the time we had finished the ride we just wanted to jump in a bath, not jump in a car for a long drive.”
Sportive Breaks will visit the host towns for every top European sportive, and find the best cycling-friendly hotels based on a specific 16-point rating system.
They are also an official partner with top event organisers, meaning they can sell entries to ‘sold out’ sportives.
It means cyclists can book their hotels and entries in one go, knowing their hotel has been hand-picked for its location and facilities.
Sears added: “Our aim is to make cycling travel easy. Cyclists can book their hotels and entries with us knowing they will be staying in the best locations and the hotel will properly look after their specific needs.”
Visit www.sportivebreaks.com to find out more.
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