John Readman, CEO and co-founder of Ride25, took part in the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Sportive on Sunday 3rd May which was designed to give sportive riders the opportunity to experience the Tour de France legacy and to pave the way for the pro riders who were setting off later in the day. Here are his reflections of the ride and the day as a whole…thanks to Charlie from Performance Communications and Maserati for the invite!
I would like to say that I had a bright and early start for the 1 day Tour de Yorkshire sportive – however, although it was early (my group set off at 6am) it was definitely not bright. In fact, the heavens had well and truly opened as we set off from Roundhay Park in Leeds to tackle the tough course which covered much of last year’s Tour de France Grand Départ route. One saving grace was the recent purchase of my Castelli Gabba 2 Convertible Jacket which helped keep out the wind and rain as we pedalled our way out of Leeds. (However, unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to use the ‘convertible’ part of the attire and take the sleeves off!)
The rain continued for most of the 88 mile route (there were two other distances available plus a women’s only Cycletta) and the route was hilly and challenging with over 9,000 feet of climbing (even Wiggo said it was ‘bloody hard’.)
However, the Yorkshire folk who lined the route gave us plenty of warmth and encouragement to keep us going – particularly in Hebden Bridge and Haworth. In fact, as I cycled through these pretty villages, the locals gave us such a welcoming reception with cheers of encouragement that for a split second I felt like I was actually one of the Pro cyclists taking part in the real event! The route also took us through Addingham and Ilkley where locals enthusiastically cheered us on. The last feed station in Addingham was epic which was sponsored by Maserati – Yorkshire puddings with sausage and amazing flapjacks – just want I needed 65 miles in – perfect.
The route in parts was pretty treacherous due to the inclement conditions and there were apparently quite a few accidents (probably as participants had lost the sensation in their hands it was so cold!)
As we entered into the home straight back into Leeds, the sun started to peep through the clouds and we eventually arrived back into Roundhay Park to watch the pro riders take on their Day 3 Wakefield to Leeds route on the big screen significantly faster than me (but in much sunnier conditions!)
Later that evening whilst catching up on the ITV4 highlights of the Tour I spotted myself (donning my bright orange Ride25 shirt over my Castelli Gabba!) crossing the finish line. You can check out the short video clip above.
All in all a challenging, chilly and hilly day on the bike – but totally worth it! Thanks Yorkshire! (Also thank you to Becky Joy Gorman photography for some of the great photos she took of the day featured in this blog post).
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