Event organisers CX Sportive has joined forces with online retail giant Wiggle to to launch their latest off road, cross sportive – The 100 mile Wiggle CX Century – The South Downs Way.
We’re big fans of getting out on your cross, or gravel, bike for some dirty dropbar goodness, and this type of event is likely to become more common. A flagship event for organisers, they say it is, “pointing the way to a big year”. This grand day out will form the centrepiece of the Wiggle Cx Series, with the first round just a month after Christams. The full series dates are:
25 Jan, Wiggle Chilterns Wildwood CX Sportive (Woodcote, Oxfordshire)
8 Mar, Wiggle South Downs Sting CX Sportive (Duncton, West Sussex)
12 Apr, Surrey Hills Gravelcross CX Sportive (Cranleigh, Surrey)
4 Jul, Wiggle CX Century: The South Downs Way
27 Sep, New Event (TBC)
1 Nov, Wiggle Salisbury Saxon CX Sportive (Salisbury, Wiltshire)
With stupidly steep climbs, sea views and more than enough changeling terrain, this long distance event from Winchester to Eastbourne should test anyone’s mettle. We’re not sure how it will be policed, but there are rules for your bike – no wider than 40mm tyres, and strictly no suspension!
The event opens its doors for entry over the festive season, and for first dibs, signing up to the mailing list is the best way to get chance to snap up one of the 500 places available. Details of that and the full series can be found at cxsportive.com
The organisers have this to say about the whole world of CX Sportives:
(If you are new to the world of CX, it’s a format that has its roots in the world of cyclocross racing. On the back of the road cycling boom of the last ten years, cyclocross style bikes are finding new levels of popularity even among non racers, as an agile, but versatile and robust alternative to a pure road bike. A new generation of CX bike has come along on the back of this interest, inspired by elements of race bikes, US style gravel racers, and even fast, lightweight world tourers! That ultimate goal is a ‘one bike’ do-it-all machine that you could race at weekends, commute on in the week and take out for evening hacks on the roads and byways, and CX is where those bikes take you. On or off road, it’s about riding whatever is in front of you and having blast along the way! If you haven’t tried it already, take a break from the defined constraints of road or mountain biking for a while, and give CX a go. You won’t look back!)
In other words – #dirtydropbargoodness. It sounds like a grand day out!
