Sportive

Ten sportives to kick-start your summer with a bang

Rides to test your form through to the end of June

Summer is coming

Summer is coming and there are plenty of sportives to test your form
The Etape du Dales takes in some of Yorkshire's toughest climbs (Pic: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com)
The Chenies Velo Classique is another chance to tackle the Chilterns (Pic: Steve Cadman/Creative Commons)
The Tour of Cambridgeshire will welcome more than 6,000 riders for the inaugural event (Pic: Tour of Cambridgeshire)
The Wiggle Dragon Ride is a long-standing fixture on the UK sportive calendar (Pic: Human Race)
The brutal cobbled climb of the Corkscrew is the highlight of the Cheshire Cobbled Classic (Pic: Cycle Classics)
Riders tackle the lower slopes of The Tumble at the Tour of Britain (pic: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)
Practice your descending technique in the build-up to the Etape du Tour
The undulating Northumberland countryside hosts the Virgin Money Cyclone Challenge
The NSPCC Tour of Yorkshire offers amateurs the 'ultimate pro-rider experience' (Pic: Tour of England)
Sir Dave Brailsford has given the Etape Eryri his seal of approval, having tackled the route through the Snowdonia National Park (Pic: Gwynfor James)

Summer is coming

Summer is on the horizon and, after months of putting the hours in trainingthe sportive season is in full swing and it’s time to start putting those training miles to use.

The arrival of summer, and the boom in British sportives, means there is no shortage of events to enter on any given weekend. You can use an early summer sportive to get back into the swing of things, or perhaps to test your form ahead of a bigger summer goal, like the Etape du Tour.

While the most popular events have already sold out, there are still plenty of great rides with entries available, all over the country. We’ve picked out some of the best over the following pages, so mark your calendar and book your place before it’s too late.