{"id":333,"date":"2021-12-15T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=651831"},"modified":"2021-12-15T12:14:08","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T11:14:08","slug":"bikeradar-rides-the-fred-whitton-challenge-the-uks-toughest-sportive","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/bikeradar-rides-the-fred-whitton-challenge-the-uks-toughest-sportive\/","title":{"rendered":"BikeRadar Rides | The Fred Whitton Challenge \u2013 the UK\u2019s toughest sportive"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Matt Baird\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 15 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

This feature was originally published in issue 386 of\u00a0Cycling Plus magazine<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

After more than seven hours in the saddle, the moment I\u2019ve been dreading and sweating over for months has finally arrived.<\/p>\n

The 33 per cent inclines are almost comically steep, the tarmac as cracked as my mental resolve.<\/p>\n

I strain every sinew to rotate the pedals. My speed hovers at 5km\/h and a fellow rider pushing his bike overtakes me.<\/p>\n

This is Hardknott. This is hardcore. And this is the Fred Whitton, the most famous and feared sportive in the nation, gracing the Lake District after an enforced hiatus last year.<\/p>\n

\""Cyclist\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Fred Whitton Challenge is arguably the UK\u2019s toughest sportive, with more than 100 miles on the notoriously tough roads of the Lake District.<\/span><\/figcaption> Chris Sansom<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The UK\u2019s toughest sportive?<\/h2>\n

Held in memory of Fred Whitton, the racing secretary of the Lakes Road Club who died of cancer in 1998, the Fred began life the following year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s since raised millions for charity and also raised plenty of heart rates, with the iconic \u2013 and often super-steep \u2013 climbs of Kirkstone, Hardknott and Wrynose in its midst along the 183km route, and well over 3,000m of relentless climbing in total.<\/p>\n

Almost as tough as crossing the Fred finish line is getting a spot in the massively over-subscribed ballot, and I\u2019m one of the questionably \u2018lucky\u2019 entrants in 2021.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s my first attempt at the Fred and I\u2019ve spent the past months riding Somerset\u2019s hills in the big ring in prep.<\/p>\n

My biggest events to date \u2013 an Ironman triathlon, city-centre marathons \u2013 have all taken place on pancake-flat roads and in perfect weather conditions, and were largely a battle with my stamina and psychology.<\/p>\n

\""Cycling\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Cycling Plus editor Matt Baird valiantly volunteered to ride the 2021 Fred Whitton Challenge.<\/span><\/figcaption> Chris Sansom<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The Fred, however, feels different. It\u2019s going to be a tussle with topography and a wrestle with the weather.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t be the only one controlling my narrative today \u2013 the gods of the Lake District will also decide my fate.<\/p>\n