Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Cyclists do it in stages
The beauty of the genre - which, on the continent, goes by the name of 'cyclo-sportive' - is that these challenges bridge the gap between recreational riding and cycle sport, between charity rides and full-on road racing. Which is why their popularity is growing phenomenally. Besides the Etape, France hosts a summer-long series of cyclo-sportives. In Belgium, you can ride the routes of Spring Classics such as the Tour of Flanders or the Li�ge-Bastogne-Li�ge the day before the races themselves - usually with authentically gritty Belgian weather to make you even more grateful for the frites and beer later. Italy has the Gran Fondo series for those who want to explore the same Dolomite passes and Tuscan hills as the Giro d'Italia runs over. ...
When the Tour comes to Britain next year, we will have our very own Etape, a 130-mile cyclist's pilgrimage from London to Canterbury.
The beauty of the genre - which, on the continent, goes by the name of 'cyclo-sportive' - is that these challenges bridge the gap between recreational riding and cycle sport, between charity rides and full-on road racing. Which is why their popularity is growing phenomenally. Besides the Etape, France hosts a summer-long series of cyclo-sportives. In Belgium, you can ride the routes of Spring Classics such as the Tour of Flanders or the Li�ge-Bastogne-Li�ge the day before the races themselves - usually with authentically gritty Belgian weather to make you even more grateful for the frites and beer later. Italy has the Gran Fondo series for those who want to explore the same Dolomite passes and Tuscan hills as the Giro d'Italia runs over. ...
When the Tour comes to Britain next year, we will have our very own Etape, a 130-mile cyclist's pilgrimage from London to Canterbury.
posted 10/16/2006
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