Demand for places on the UK’s toughest sportives continues to grow, with the Dartmoor Classic and Dragon Ride both attracting record interest ahead of the editions.
The Dartmoor Classic, which will take place on Sunday June 23, has sold out in record time, with all 3,000 places filled in less than five days.
The gruelling sportive, which offers 65 and 104-mile routes through Dartmoor National Park, is one of the UK’s toughest and will switch the location of its depart village from Abbrook Park to Newton Abbot Racecourse in 2013.
The new venue is less than two miles from the Dartmoor Classic’c traditional home and the organisers have promised to leave as much of the route untouched as possible.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Ride has introduced a ballot system for the 2013 event, on Sunday June 9, and more than 4,000 entries were received in the first 24 hours.
The ballot system was established to “ensure a fair allocation of places” after the 2012 Dragon Ride sold out in record time and it will remain open until Saturday December 1 at www.wiggledragonride.com.
The Dragon Ride has two routes on offer, with the 206km Gran Fondo course packing in 3,350m of climbing and the 125km Medio Fondo ride featuring 1,875m of ascent. There will also be a 37km women-only Cycletta ride with 430m of climbing.
“It’s great to see that the event still proves to be so popular,” said Dragon Ride founder Lou Lusardi, technical director for the 2013 event.
“Now that riders have entered it’s time to think of the upcoming year which marks the 10th edition of the Dragon Ride. There will be no surprises as far as the route is concerned but we’ll be looking to introduce a few novel tweaks to celebrate ‘number ten’ so watch this space.”
Dragon Ride organisers Human Race have promised to invest heavily in the tenth anniversary edition of the now-famous Welsh sportive, with detailed route and climbing information, specialised training and nutrition plans, increased signage, improved mechanical support and stewarding, and revamped feed stations. A ‘rider recovery zone’ will also be introduced, offering free post-ride massages and recovery treatments, and a hot meal.
