Sportive

Ten sportives to kick-start your summer with a bang

Rides to test your form through to the end of June

NSPCC Tour of Yorkshire - June 20-21

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)

NSPCC Tour of Yorkshire - June 20-21

How good is your form? Enough to take on a two-day event to kickstart your summer in style?

The NSPCC Tour of Yorkshire is part of the NSPCC Tour of England series of multi-day sportives and returns in 2015 after a successful first event last year.

Taking in 151 miles of Yorkshire countryside over the weekend, including part of the 2014 Tour de Frace route, the weekend also incorporates a timed hill climb, a flat time trial section and a yellow jersey dinner.

Eighty miles are to be covered on day one, with 71 more awaiting the following day on a route which takes in the Yorkshire Dales and closed-road sections, all while offering what organisers call the ‘ultimate pro rider experience’.

Price: £139
Website: Tour of Yorkshire