The team at Ilkley Cycling Club are gearing up for the eighth annual White Rose Classic, Yorkshire’s premier cycling sportive on Sunday, 23 June. Registration for this June’s event opened in 2018 and is proving as popular as ever, attracting riders from all over the country looking to experience challenging hills and serene beauty that Yorkshire has to offer.
The White Rose Classic features three Yorkshire Dales cycle routes that cover some of the same roads as the annual Tour de Yorkshire and this year’s UCI Professional World Championships. Any one of the routes makes for a great day’s ride, affording beautiful views and significant challenges:
- The Grassington Short Route is 48 miles of stunning scenery and a flavour of cycling the Dales,
- The Settle Medium Route takes riders 85 miles and up into isolated Littondale
- The newly expanded Hawes Long Route is an epic 120 mile adventure that includes secluded roads that even locals rarely ride.
The White Rose Classic is widely regarded as one of the friendliest sportives, because it is an all-volunteer effort, from the home-made sandwiches to the after-ride party, and all the riding in between. To help riders new to the area get around, there are organised Group Rides for each route, led by an experienced Ilkley Cycling Club Ride leader.
“After last year’s fantastic turnout,” said Scott Blau, White Rose Classic volunteer organiser and ICC Club Member, “we have worked hard this year to improve the event with route changes, feed station enhancements, and an all-new Event HQ at Nell Bank where riders will be able to relax after their efforts, enjoying the meal included with their registration while listening to live music and enjoying local beers and other treats.”
The entirely volunteer-led event offers riders on all routes three fantastically-stocked feed stations fully-signed, on-the-road mechanical and medical support and an after-party as a well-deserved reward for the challenge of the ride. Entry is open to anyone over 16 years old on the event website at www.whiteroseclassic.org.uk.
