8/6/08 Sunday 1st June saw over 500 riders take part in the Chiltern 100 Cyclo Sportive, that started and finished in Great Missenden. The event was promoted by the St Albans based Verulam Cycling Club and the Amersham Road Cycling Club. There were hundreds of individual entries and 23 team entries with three routes to choose from, with the most popular being the Gran Fondo, which covered 107 miles and 2,600 meters of climbing. A number of local cycling clubs participated in the event, with four riders recording the quickest completion in 5 hours 46 minutes for the Gran Fondo, three of whom were from Verulam CC. The weather forecast was fine for the day, but some unlucky riders had to start the event in a passing shower. The weather soon cleared, leaving the riders to face 21 relentless hills and 107 miles to cloud their spirits. The Gran Fondo route caused much suffering, with a stinging series of hills that demanded excellent fitness and pace judgement for completion in a reasonable time. The riding groups splintered at Bison Hill before Whipsnade, if not before. The knock out punch was landed with the double whammy of Whiteleaf Hill followed almost immediately by Wardrobes - known locally as Pinks, after the Pink & Lilley pub at the top. There were numerous sightings of cyclists walking their bikes up the hill at this point. The Medio Fondo had a similar course to the Gran Fondo but omitted the first 50 miles. It followed the same route from Wendover to Watlington and back and tackled the same steep hills. This route, although shorter than the Gran Fondo, was no easy ride and completing it was itself a challenge. The Corto Fondo proved very popular with 160 riders taking up the challenge. Although less hilly, the Corto still has some good climbs and the route was terrific with charming villages, and superb views towards the brooding Chilterns. Afterwards a number of the Corto riders commented on the quirky finish through Great Missenden Churchyard before dropping down to the High Street. After the ride the 'sportifs' recovered on the grass in front of the event HQ. The Gran Fondo riders were easily distinguished from those that completed one of the two shorter routes - they were the ones barely able to move and whose smiles came solely from the fact that they were not on their bike any more and the agony of this enormous personal challenge was now behind them, at least until next year's event. The "Saddlebag Cafe" operated by the Roald Dahl Foundation to raise charitable funds worked a treat. Business was brisk and the coffee and croissant breakfast offering was an instant hit. On completion of their ride, riders found a superb array of homemade rolls and cakes. The final results have been published on the event website www.chiltern-hundred.org.uk Photographs are available on Phil O'Connor's site The overall verdict from the riders was that it was a tremendously successful event - the routes were great, the event had been well organised and it was an extremely satisfying and challenging day. During the 1910 Tour de France Octave Lapize, a professional French Cyclist, is noted for looking at some Tour officials on the climb of the Col du Tourmalet and yelling, "Vous êtes des assassins! Oui, des assassins!" ("You are murderers! Yes, murderers!"). There were reports of a number of Gran Fondo riders uttering these exact words as they left the car park at the end of the day. |