Irontwit

Certain sporting events achieve iconic status across the nation. I’m thinking of the FA Cup Final, the Grand National, the Wimbledon Final and a few others. Many more are iconic within their own sport such as the Three Peaks Cyclocross race, the Emsley Carr Mile, the Badminton Horse Trials, and in triathlon, the Windsor triathlon. Cyclo sportives don’t really fit into the mould of “sporting event” as such. They are not a race; there is no winner. Yet they are a unique sporting challenge testing one’s cycling abilities against a course in much the same way that the London Marathon represents a sporting challenge for 95% of the participants rather than a race. I think that the Fred Whitton Challenge has achieved iconic status among cyclists and would be second only to the Etape du Tour in a list of any cycling challenge rider’s tick lists of must do events.

How has the “Fred” achieved this in only ten years?

Although challenge rides have existed for a longer time on the continent (this year is still only the 17th running of the Etape), ten years is a long time in British sportive history and as such the organisation of the event under the guidance and energy of the organiser, Paul Loftus, seems to have taken on a very professional standard. The feed stations are well stocked with tempting goodies; the course is well signposted; there are marshalls, supporters and medical support at all the crucial points, and most importantly, the locals seem to have adopted the event as part of the Lake District year. Car drivers, on the whole (and that was certainly my experience), are patient, and there seems to be none of the local opposition that has occasionally reared its head around events such as farmers taking down signs, locals objecting to road closures etc. The fact that it is a charity ride helps in this respect, I’m sure.

Riders tackle one of the many ascents on the Fred Whitton

Image from Rob the Tog on Flickr under Creative Commons Licence

The real reason for the Fred Whitton’s rise to iconic status, however, is the course. It would be easy to design a tougher sportive course if you wanted to: add more hills and make it longer, but that would be to miss the point. The route of the Fred Whitton has a pleasing logic to it in that it crosses all of the major road passes in the Lake District. there is none of the tinkering with routes that other sportives have done, in some cases radically changing the character of the event. The route also contains a mythical climb at a point in which only the properly conditioned rider will prevail. The climb of Hardknott pass is negotiated at the 100th mile on the route and is so steep that cars regularly fry their clutches trying to get up it. It’s the cycling equivalent of hitting the wall in the marathon, or taking Eau Rouge flat in top gear at Spa Francorchamps. In other words it will take real guts and, above all, mental will to succeed on its slopes. The first question anyone in the know will ask a Fred Whitton rider is “Did you get up Hardknott?

The Whitton is a route that demands the greatest of respect, courage even, but it’s not impossible. Some of the new ultra hard sportives that are beginning to appear will appeal only to a certain type of “hardman” cyclist whose sole pleasure in life is in inflicting maximum suffering on the poor unfortunates who have joined them on a club run. They will never reach the mass appeal of the Fred Whitton (organisers marketing these “mega”  rides should take note). The Fred, on the other hand, is open to the weekend warrior, the triathlete, the casual cyclist, anyone who is prepared to put the hours of training in needed for success. 

I will definitely be among those sitting up to midnight next January waiting for the moment when the application forms for the 2010 edition of the Fred Whitton Challenge become available. There is the small matter of recording a “First Class” time which I missed by a mere 13 minutes this year (I blame the broken derailleur cable and the storm over Wrynose).

Here are two photosets on Flickr to give you a flavour of the event:

This first set from Rob the Tog shows the leafier northern section of the route.

While this set from Fleming2009 brilliantly captures the incredible atmosphere and difficulty of Hardknott.