{"id":66024,"date":"2024-06-22T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/83ad339b-99e0-43e4-89a3-bab4142870b5"},"modified":"2024-06-22T11:25:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T09:25:29","slug":"riding-the-ronde-van-calderdale-the-uks-answer-to-the-cobbles-of-flanders","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/riding-the-ronde-van-calderdale-the-uks-answer-to-the-cobbles-of-flanders\/","title":{"rendered":"Riding the Ronde van Calderdale: the UK’s answer to the cobbles of Flanders"},"content":{"rendered":"
What do you get when you transport the spirit of the Tour of Flanders to West Yorkshire? <\/p>
By <\/p>
Published: Saturday, 22 June 2024 at 09:00 AM<\/p>
\n\n
“Vous \u00eates des assassins! Oui, des assassins!” (“You are murderers! Yes, murderers!”) <\/p>
This is the famed quote bellowed by Octave Lapize during the first monumental crossing of the Pyrenees in the 1910 Tour de France.<\/p>
Incandescent with rage that anyone could dream up such torture, he spent the day relentlessly berating race organiser Henri Desgrange for what he saw as inhumane expectations for the riders: \u201cYou cannot ask human beings to do a thing like this!\u201d<\/p>
These sentiments are echoing through my mind as I eventually roll across the finish line and come to a halt at the headquarters of the Ronde van Calderdale sportive.<\/p>
\u201cWhere are the organisers?\u201d I demand. \u201cI need to talk to whoever is in charge.\u201d Who on earth would plot such a route?<\/p>
I had waited a long time to ride the Ronde van Calderdale (RVC), perhaps five years since I\u2019d first got wind of its unique route.<\/p>
The event had always been held on the same date as the Tour of Flanders because the RVC was imagined as a British take on the Belgian Spring Classic.<\/p>Like \u2018De Ronde\u2019, RVC is packed with cobbled climbs: 14 in fact. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Where Flanders has world-famous climbs such as the Koppenberg and Oude Kwaremont, RVC possesses a clutch of climbs infamous within the wider British cycling firmament.<\/p>
These climbs, such as Gibb Lane, Shibden Wall and Trooper Lane, make Flanders\u2019 best look like mole hills.<\/p>
The route of the RVC was devised in 2010 by Mick Collins, in a first year when only 30 local riders took part. It adds up to a devastating 120km challenge for all who dare to take it on.<\/p>
Collins’ replication of the Spring Classics with his club started with Milan-San Remo, before settling on their own take on the Tour of Flanders. With access to cobbled climbs on their doorstep, it proved a huge hit.<\/p>
After several years of it being run purely as a club run, it was suggested that it become a public event, and in 2012 the RVC was born.<\/p>
Spen force<\/h2>This is not a timed event, it’s just about finishing. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
As soon as you arrive at the RVC HQ, at Spen Valley High School in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, you\u2019ll notice it has a distinctive feel all of its own.<\/p>
There is no number to strap to your bike, nor pin to your jersey. There is no event timing: time is irrelevant here and the only goal is completion.<\/p>
In the world of Strava, of course, most participants upload their ride to create an unofficial leaderboard at the end of the day and, although it\u2019s not a race, the unspoken goal is to break the five-hour mark, which only a select few do each year.<\/p>
I\u2019m a rider on the extreme end of the competitive spectrum, so the casual, carefree feel to the event is somewhat confusing.<\/p>
I\u2019m told about a fast group that’s heading off first, so I make a beeline for it and make it just in time for the flag drop.<\/p>
I barely have a chance to catch my breath before we\u2019re pedalling, and when we do it\u2019s like being ejected from a catapult.<\/p>The climbs come thick and fast. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
I wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see smoke coming out of my bike computer. Traffic lights come to my rescue, splitting the group in two and dispatching the biggest culprits for the excessive speed up the road, never to be seen again.<\/p>
I settle into a group made up almost exclusively of members of York\u2019s Clifton CC and decide to hover around this tight and well-drilled outfit like a bee around honey for as long as I can.<\/p>
Before climb one, Steele Lane, there is a full 10 miles of constant undulation, so being in a group is hugely beneficial.<\/p>
The climb is preceded by a sharp descent, which leaves the whole group in the wrong gear as we ride up.<\/p>
Half of us have to dismount and change gear manually, before getting back on and struggling to build back momentum over the rugged stones.<\/p>
Steele Lane is a wonderful creation, a snaking rise of mish-mashed cobblestone sections that goes on longer than you expect, eventually delivering you above Scammonden Water.<\/p>Tackling the cobbles of Steeple Lane. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Our group comes back together at the top after being blown to pieces on the climb, ratcheting up the pace to a level that is a fraction too fast for me.<\/p>
I have to drop back. It\u2019s never a nice feeling to make such a decision so early, but a totally necessary one here to stop me blowing a gasket.<\/p>
I watch the red blob of Clifton CC disappear into the distance.<\/p>
Up next are the twin climbs of Cliffe Ash and Dodlee Lane, the second of which is closed to traffic, which means I can romp up the centre of the road searching for the smoothest line from bottom to top.<\/p>
Each sector of cobbles takes its toll and wears me down, incrementally robbing me of a finite amount of strength.<\/p>
In isolation, each sector is perfectly manageable, but strung together it\u2019s a whole different story.<\/p>
Three more are safely negotiated \u2013 Brighouse Wood Lane, Staups Lane and The Hough \u2013 before we tackle the big beasts of the course.<\/p>
Percentage play<\/h2>Shibden Wall is the route’s best-known climb. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Looming on the horizon after the initial flurry of lesser climbs is the triple whammy of Shibden Wall, Gibb Lane and Old Lane in Halifax.<\/p>
Like the three prongs of the Devil\u2019s trident, these climbs are waiting to skewer my legs, starting with the legendary Shibden Wall.<\/p>
Of all the roads included on today\u2019s route, this is the best known, having been used many years ago in the Milk Race and Kellogg\u2019s Tour pro races and, more recently, the Tour de Yorkshire stage race.<\/p>
Featuring 20 per cent gradients, cobbles with gaps between them so wide they can swallow even the fattest of tyres and a hairpin so tight it forces you almost to a halt, Shibden Wall is a total monster.<\/p>
I battle up, encouraged by a few of the youngsters from the Kirklees Cycling Academy, an organisation that supports young bike racers and is a beneficiary of the RVC.<\/p>
Also cheering me on is the event photographer, who calls me \u2018young man\u2019 (I\u2019m in my 50s), as I battle to roll over the top in the shadow of Halifax\u2019s dry ski slope, west Yorkshire\u2019s answer to Val d\u2019Is\u00e8re.<\/p>A vital refuelling stop. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
In the gap separating Shibden and Gibb Lane, there are a handful of other paved climbs not featured in the ride literature. One of these, Wood Lane, is a total horror of a road that heads up under a rail bridge on awful 20 per cent slopes.<\/p>
The unclassified climbs are always the toughest because getting hell when you\u2019re expecting respite is hard on the head.<\/p>
Onto Gibb Lane, climb eight, which isn\u2019t quite as steep as Shibden but lingers far longer, and whose end comes with me begging for smooth tarmac.<\/p>
When the blacktop does come, it\u2019s behind me just as quickly, before I\u2019m left to negotiate the godforsaken Old Lane, a cobbled climb that stretches into the sky.<\/p>It doesn’t get much tougher than Old Lane. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
I\u2019ve only ever made it up here once. Old Lane is horribly steep and its stones are randomly packed, covered in grass and moss, and it is arguably the toughest obstacle of the day.<\/p>
At the foot of the climb, I already have the feeling that I won\u2019t be adding to my tally of one sole completed ascent.<\/p>
I begin well enough, but with only 40 miles in the rear view, my body is already turning to jelly \u2013 I blame a dire week of back problems.<\/p>
I make sure I pass Henry, the photographer, before I throw in the towel, but throw it in I do and I begin the walk of shame.<\/p>
At the summit, there\u2019s a feed station and in it are the Clifton CC riders that I\u2019d slipped back from earlier in the day.<\/p>
They\u2019ve suffered a few time-wasting mechanicals in the meantime. I\u2019m quietly pleased to see them, but I know there\u2019s still a long way to go, with plenty of tricky stuff yet to come.<\/p>
Once I grovel to the top of Old Lane, I immediately have to descend it, losing 200m altitude, only to have to traipse right back up again to the top of the moor.<\/p>
Moor like it<\/h2>Oxenhope Moor \u2013 calm between the storms. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
There aren\u2019t any significant cobbles for several miles, but up next is another shining star of the route, the incredible ride across Oxenhope Moor, past the Warley Moor Reservoir.<\/p>
It\u2019s an oasis of calm, away from the chaos of the cobbles and congestion of the valleys and, in stark contrast to the majority of the climbing, I can sit in the saddle on a far more agreeable slope and pedal away more comfortably.<\/p>
Even better, following this there\u2019s a long descent into the outskirts of Hebden Bridge and all the way back to Luddenden for a second visit to the Old Lane feed stop. <\/p>
There are still riders battling up its slopes, some on foot and some on two wheels, each greeted with well-deserved applause as they finish.<\/p>
Filling another bottle, I\u2019m now starting to worry about my legs.<\/p>
I can\u2019t have been drinking enough, because the first signs of cramp are starting to appear, with three further hideous cobbled climbs remaining.<\/p>
The first two, Woodhouse Lane and Wakefield Gate, are fine but I know the final one, the monumental Trooper Lane in Halifax, is going to be trouble.<\/p>No choice but to push up Trooper Lane. – Henry Iddon \/ Our Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>
As I pass a couple of riders at the bottom who are summoning the courage to climb, I crawl on, trying my absolute best to nurse my cramping legs into the lower slopes.<\/p>
If only I can keep on top of the cadence and tiptoe across the cobbles, maybe, just maybe, I can make it up without climbing off\u2026 but no.<\/p>
Hitting the start of the steepest section, the dreaded cramp returns. It\u2019s time once again to transfer to two feet.<\/p>
It is a shame because this is such a magnificent road, one that I have cycled up on many previous occasions.<\/p>
Naturally, up ahead, Henry is waiting to snap me in my moment of personal despair, pictures he promises to delete.<\/p>
It\u2019s almost as hard to walk the 30 per cent slopes of Trooper Lane as it is to ride them, especially in cycling shoes, but with my cleats somewhat worn down, I cross the brow with only six miles left on the table, and the Clifton CC posse tantalisingly out of reach for the rest of the ride.<\/p>
And what a ride it has been. It might be a route that\u2019s mimicking another over the Channel in Belgium, but this is a ride with a character all of its own.<\/p>
Local Knowledge<\/h3>
Distance (full route):<\/strong> 122kmElevation:<\/strong> 2,705mRoute<\/strong>: Download the full route from komoot<\/a><\/p>
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-06.jpg\")
![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-07.jpg\")
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-01.jpg\")
![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-02.jpg\")
![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-09.jpg\")
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-04.jpg\")
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-10.jpg\")
![\"Cyclist](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/39\/2024\/03\/Big-Ride-Ronde-van-Calderdale-08.jpg\")