Cycling sportive guide: closed roads, timing and how to prepare

A sportive is an organised, signposted mass-participation bike ride. You ride a set route with feed stations and mechanical support, and you are usually timed, but it is a personal challenge and not a race.

What a sportive is, and is not

Riders set off in small groups over a period of an hour or more and follow arrows around the course. There is no winner and no prize for finishing first. Many events give gold, silver and bronze standards based on your time and age group, and most publish a list of finishers and times afterwards.

Most sportives offer two or three routes on the same day, commonly labelled short, medium and long. These might be 30 to 40 miles (50 to 65 kilometres), 60 miles (100 kilometres) and 100 miles (160 kilometres). You can often switch to a shorter route on the day at a signed split point if things are not going well.

Open roads and closed roads

The great majority of UK sportives are held on open roads. Traffic is moving normally, the Highway Code applies in full, and you must stop at red lights and junctions. Marshals are there to point the way. They have no power to stop traffic for you.

A small number of large events are held on closed roads, with the route free of motor traffic for the day. These are a different experience: you can use the whole width of the road, and the fields are very large. They also tend to have strict cut-off times, because the roads have to reopen on schedule. Riders who fall behind the cut-off pace are diverted onto a shorter route or picked up by a broom wagon, the vehicle that follows the last rider.

How the timing works

Timing is by chip, usually a tag fixed to your helmet, handlebar number or seat post. Your time starts when you cross the mat at the start and stops at the finish, so it does not matter which group you set off with. This is the same principle used in running events, described in how chip timing works.

The clock generally keeps running while you are stopped at feed stations, so the published figure is elapsed time and not riding time. Some events also time a particular climb separately. If you want to check your result afterwards, the guide to reading race results explains the common column headings.

Choosing an event

Distance tells you only half the story. When you browse events, look at the total climbing as well. A flat 60 miles and a 60 mile route with 1,500 metres of ascent are very different days out. As a rough guide, more than 1,000 metres of climbing per 100 kilometres is a hilly ride.

For a first sportive, choose a distance about a third longer than your longest regular ride, on terrain similar to what you train on.

Preparing your fitness

Allow eight to twelve weeks. The principles are the same as for a running event:

One long ride a week. Extend it gradually until you have ridden at least three-quarters of the event distance.
One or two shorter rides. An hour at a steady effort, or a session with some harder efforts on hills.
Practise climbing. If the route is hilly, ride hills. Learn to sit, select an easy gear early and keep a steady rhythm.
Ride in company. Riding close to others takes practice. A local club ride is the best place to learn to hold a line and signal hazards.
Ease off in the final week. A short taper leaves you fresh for the day.

Preparing your bike

Any roadworthy bike is acceptable at most sportives, although a road bike makes long distances easier. Have it serviced a fortnight before, not the day before, so any new parts have time to settle. Check tyres for cuts, brake pads for wear and that the gears shift cleanly. Fit lower gears if the route has steep climbs.

What to carry

A helmet. This is compulsory at virtually every event.
Two spare inner tubes, tyre levers and a pump or inflator, plus a multi-tool.
Two water bottles.
Food in your pockets: do not rely only on feed stations.
A lightweight waterproof or windproof jacket.

Eating, drinking and pacing

Start eating within the first hour and keep going, a little and often. Aim for something every 20 to 30 minutes and a bottle of drink an hour, more in warm weather. Running out of energy on a long ride arrives suddenly and takes a long time to recover from.

Pace the first third conservatively. It is easy to be drawn along by a fast group in the opening miles and pay for it later. Ride the climbs at your own effort and let others go.

Group riding etiquette

Keep left and ride no more than two abreast, singling out when traffic needs to pass.
Point out potholes and call out hazards for riders behind.
Do not brake or change line suddenly.
Take your litter home, or leave it at a feed station.