This was the first UK cycle sportive to roll out in 2021 following the relaxation of the COVID restrictions and my first cycle sportive since Ride London-Surrey 100 in August 2019.

Velo29 were offering three distances for this event. A short route at 37 miles, a medium route at 79 miles and a long route at 101 miles. All three routes start and finish in Stockport and head out into the Peak District for some climbs, with the longer route reaching Sheffield before heading back for home. Take a look at the Manchester-Sheffield-Manchester page on the velo29 website for more detailed info.

I was using this sportive (and 3 others) as part of my training for some half and full distance triathlons over the summer, so I went for the Long Course to give the legs a good long day out with plenty of climbing. I hadn’t cycled 100 miles since the Cheshire 100 in July 2019 but after cycling just shy of 3,000 miles in the first three months of 2021 I felt confident I could cover the distance and elevation.

My only concern was a slight calf strain picked up on a run 3 weeks ago. I did have the all-clear to ride as long as I wore calf sleeves. To be honest, the calf had felt much better in the days leading up to the ride so I felt it should hold up fine and the weather forecast helped to make the decision to wear the calf sleeves an easy one.

That weather forecast! When I signed up for this one at the end of March, it was 20’c, warm and sunny. The thought of cycling 100 miles in nice warm spring weather felt so appealing. Fast forward 3 weeks to 11th April 2021 and the forecast for the 7:30am start time was 0’c, feels like -3’c and a high of 2’c, feels like 0’c. Not quite what I had in mind but it all adds to the fun.

The new COVID guidelines put in place by Velo29 meant we all had to complete a COVID questionnaire in the days leading up to the ride. Riders were to be set off in waves of 6, one minute apart. We had to select a start time prior to event day. If you didn’t complete the questionnaire or select a start time before event day then you couldn’t ride. Really simple steps to follow and only took 5 minutes to go through it all. The timing chip/tracker and ride number were posted out, mine arrived on the Friday before the ride. They did say if you hadn’t received these by then you can drop them a mail and pick up a replacement at the startline so no biggie.

Upon arrival at the start area, we all had a temperature check and had to socially distance. Again, all standard things that we should have been following for many months now. They ask you not to arrive any earlier than 30 mins before your start time to avoid crowds gathering. I had selected a 7:32am start time and arrived at 7:25am, there were very few people there then. They call you up 2 minutes before your start time as the prior wave is in the start pen and off you go.

I really liked this new start process, no crowding and it is easy enough to get going without other riders going off slowly in front of you or missing their pedals and stopping etc.

I took the first 10 miles really steady. As someone who struggles with Raynauds syndrome, I get really cold fingers and toes at the best of times. Today I was wearing two pairs of socks, cycle shoes and overshoes, bib shorts, base layer, jersey, windbreaker, rain jacket, 2 pairs of gloves, neck tube, cap and helmet. All in all, I felt warm enough but within 1 mile of rolling out, I couldn’t feel my fingers. It took until around the 55 mile mark for the feeling to return.

The first 25 miles felt like a rollercoaster, up, down, up, down…. through the hills. As soon as we got out of Stockport we got above the cloud/mist and headed into snow-covered moors which made for some stunning views.

Again, not quite what I had in mind when I signed up for this one but something different. I can’t say that I have ever been on the bike outside in the snow before. I usually ride indoors on Zwift if the temp is below 10’c. The roads felt safe enough, there was no snow on them, just a few patches where it was dropping off the trees.

I’m not usually one for purchasing the ride photos, but when I saw this one I thought I had to. Really tells the story of the first half of this ride.

The first feed stop on all three routes was at 23 miles at Glossop Fire Station. It had taken me 1hr 55min to reach this point. Prior to the ride, I had planned to ride past this feed stop and go straight on to the second stop at 62 miles, however, the hilly first 25k made it an easy decision to stop for some food. Plus, as my hands were so cold and numb I had not eaten or drunk anything in that first 2 hours, something that came back to bite me hard in the middle portion of this ride.

The feed stop was excellent. All the usual food and High-5 gels etc but the food was in individual bags so you could grab a bag and move away to sit socially distanced and eat. The bag had a brownie, flapjack, sausage roll, pork pie and bap. Lots of carbs to fuel the body for the next stretch.

As soon as we got out of Glossop the medium and long routes split from the short route, and headed up snake pass. A 1,148ft climb across a 3.75 mile stretch. It wasn’t a big steep hill, I think it probably averaged out around 7% – 8% but it just kept on going.

Same for the downhill on the other side, not one where you could freewheel down at 40mph, more of a gradual drop but when you got down through the trees, the view was stunning again. The snow was stuck to the trees, everything was white and very Christmas looking…. a week after Easter.

The lack of ride photos from this point (mile 33 2hr 37min) to the finish line, tells you all you need to know. It was a slog! my legs were feeling heavy, at one stage I stopped on one climb to see if my rear brake was sticking, it felt as if something was slowing. The brakes were fine, I checked to see if I wasn’t dropping to the low gear but annoyingly, the gears were fine too. It was my legs and body that were lacking the energy. A by-product of insufficient fuelling in the early stages.

One thing I like to get out of these sportives when using them as part of my Ironman build-up is to nail down my fuelling strategy. Fuelling for a 112 mile bike leg of an Ironman is key to the success or failure of the whole race, given there is still a 26.2 mile marathon to run once you get off the bike. If you mess up the bike fuelling, you are in for a very long afternoon on the run just as I did during Ironman UK 2018. My fuelling plan for today was to have a bite of a flapjack every 20 minutes to maintain the carbohydrate levels and take a SiS Go Electrolyte gel every 45 minutes to add more carbs and electrolytes to the system.

In the first 3hr 30mins (47 miles), I had taken 1 Gel and had 2 bites of the flapjack. The cold hands had made it very tricky opening the top tube bag and even more tricky fighting to get the flapjack out.

The lack of fuel meant my body was low on energy and carbs and the hills were taking it out of me. From this point on, I started to eat more and take the gels every 30 minutes. The hope was to get through the remaining 55 miles not feeling any worse, maybe even finish a little stronger.

At 64 miles (5hr 9mins), I reached the second feed stop in Worrall. Same great food as the first stop and a further chance to refuel. I spent nearly an hour here and took a gel just before leaving.

At around 70 miles we came to Ewden Bank. A 1km climb of 406ft averaging just over 12%. A challenging climb but something I would usually be able to ride up. Today my legs just didn’t have it in them. I had to get off halfway up and push it. Very demotivating seeing others ride past but it is what it is.

Once over that hill, it was mostly rolling hills to the finish. No big climbs or steep hills, not flat by any stretch and at times the snow made a returning blowing right into my face. My legs were starting to come back to me and I was beginning to catch those who had passed me on Ewden Bank.

On the stretch back to the Glossop feed stop at mile 90, I had passed around 20 riders. It looked like the fuelling was starting to kick in when others were slowing. A key lesson learned today, keep on top of the fuelling and stick to the plan!

At the third feed stop, I met a mate from Instagram @triathlonjon70.3 who I had been chatting with for a few years but never met up in person. It was great to have a catch up on how each others ride was going and how our training for Ironman UK 2021 was going… or not going in my case.

After that, the last 10 miles were mostly trending downward. My legs felt really good and I averaged the highest watts across the final 10 miles of this 102 mile ride. A good strong finish to a great day in the saddle with an important reminder for my Ironman bike legs. FUEL, FUEL FUEL!!!!

A really enjoyable day of riding. 102 miles with 12,182ft of climbing. Nice to be back in the 100 club after a 21 month absence. My second highest elevation gain from a single ride and some fantastic views over the snow-covered moors.

I was really impressed with how well Velo29 managed the whole event and how the new COVID secure guidelines worked. I felt safe at all times. The booking process was simple, the COVID questionnaire and start time booking were easy enough to follow and I actually prefer this new start process. The feed stops are always important and the three stops today were top notch. On to the next one in 2 weeks time.