Selkirk {SELKIRK PAGE} - Scotland
19th May 2012 - Vitus Road Sportives (Open Start time 8.30-10am)
20th May 2012 - Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon

Marshbrook {MARSHBROOK PAGE} – England (Shropshire)
14th July 2012 - Vitus Road Sportives (Open Start time 8.30-10am)
15th July 2012 - Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon

Abergavenny {ABERGAVENNY PAGE} - Wales
4th August 2012 - Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon
5th August 2012 - Vitus Road Sportives (Open Start time 8.30-10am)
(Please note that the Sportive is run on Sunday)

Ruthin {RUTHIN PAGE} - Wales
15th September 2012 - Vitus Road Sportives (Open Start time 8.30-10am)
15th September 2012 - Exposure Light Big Night Out (Night Marathon)
16th September 2012 - Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon

Vitus Power Road Sportives –
Friday: 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Saturday: 7.00am –10.00am

Marathons –
Saturday: 12.00pm – 8.00pm
Sunday: 7.00am – 9.00am

ELBNO & Marathon weekends –
Saturday: 12.00pm – 8.00pm
Sunday: 7.00am – 9.00am

Abergavenny weekend –
Friday: 6.00pm – 9.00pm
Saturday: 7.00am – 8.00pm
Sunday: 7.00am – 10.00am

Entry fees:
The following entry fee / package applies:
the Road Sportives entrance fee is £27 for both Standard (40 – 50mile) and Classic (80 – 100mile)
if you take part in the discounted ‘weekend ticket’ (Road Sportive and the MTB Marathon) a discount applies, the price is only £47 rather than £59. We will enter you into the longest distance each day (Saturday: approx 100mile Sportive; Sunday: approx 100km Marathon) but you can always downgrade when you sign on at registration

Entries are limited – if any spaces are still available, entry at the event is possible but will be subject to a £5 surcharge. Make sure you enter now to save yourself some money and keep the hassle on the day and queuing time and registration to a minimum.

The entry fee includes:
• ride entry
• free after ride coffee / tea & cakes
• free usage of service stations (food & technical support)
• free usage of facilities (showers & toilets, etc)
• free mountain bike skills and riding tuitions (provided by CycleActive)
• finisher present
• free camping from Friday to Monday
• free parking

For more information on how to enter the events, visit the entry page. Here you will be able to enter online or download the entry form.

Event concept:
The Road Sportives are run very similarly to the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathons by being ‘one loop’ events with the start and finish being in the same location as the event village, registration and camping. Certain sections are marshalled for extra safety and we have medical cover out on course in case something goes wrong. On top of that you can find service stations (food and technical support) at regular intervals, approx every 25 - 35miles. Our energy food sponsor High5 will be present at these with energy drinks and food as well as water for topping up. They should not be relied upon as the sole source of your food and drink. There will also be a broom wagon patrolling the courses to pick up and strugglers.

Check out the 5 Basic Rules of Road Sportives, which are extremely important for the safe and enjoyable running of our sportives. Besides that have a good read of the 15 Commandments section of the MTB Marathon website as that is full of useful information regarding eating, drinking and the general running of the events.

Due to legal reasons the Sportives will be started in small waves of riders at set intervals. The start will open at 8.30am and will stay open for approximately 1.5 hours to give everybody the chance to have a relaxing start at the time of their choosing. The events are non-competitive, we don’t give out prizes, and instead we give out lots of spot prizes.

The courses are fully marked but every rider will get a small ‘backup map’ in case the marking is not 100% clear, gets damaged or removed.

Once you’ve managed to complete your ride and come over the finish line make sure you don’t just race past the commentator and the timing crew as you would miss out on your unique finisher present and on your chances of getting one of the many spot prizes that we will give away again. As always we will have bike-cleaning facilities near the finish line where you can clean your bike for your next outing or simply your drive home.

And don’t forget there is lots more going on alongside these two main events.

Event village activities - for you / your friends / family / support crew:
CycleActive – Saturday & Sunday
Back by popular demand, Bespoke Skills Sessions brought to you by the UK’s leading mountain bike instructors at CycleActive will continue to be a big part of the event village in 2012. They’ll be offering “static skills” work or ride based activities - this will be the place to come to on Saturday to learn to how to wheelie, pump manual, jump, bunny hop, drop, manual, corner faster, brake harder and control your bike in testing situations.

Skills sessions will have restricted numbers but you’ll be able to sign up online closer to each event. All the sessions are free as well, so take advantage of this chance to learn from the best in the business, and push your skills up a level before the Sunday event.

The Sunday sessions provided by CycleActive have been incredibly popular with younger riders, but also many adults who are not riding the event.  Sessions will be split between youngsters and adults. “We’ll use the same course as Saturday, with a few modifications, so youngsters and adults of all abilities can come along and learn something, and have a lot of fun too,” explained Chris.

Again, it’s completely free and you don’t need to sign up for the Sunday sessions – just check times on the board when you arrive.

To find out more about CycleActive visit them at www.cycleactive.co.uk. or email: [email protected].

Event village / campground / local area
Whilst you are here why not check out ‘what’s on’ in the local town or hang out at the event village, and check out the stalls / retail outlets, facilities and kids entertainment or why not book yourself in for a sports massage on Sunday. We also have a caterer on site serving breakfast lunch, dinner, drinks and snacks supported by the guys from Café2You with the coffee van.

For more information on what’s on, visit the local info page.

In case we did not cover all the things you want to know just click on contact and fire away. Alternatively you can give John @ John Lloyd Racing Events a call on 01982 552923.