Saturday, 09 May 2009 CYCLING FURNESS cyclists will be out in force tomorrow when the 10th Biketrek Fred Whitton Challenge takes place and Lake
District will resemble the Tour de France, writes TONY GREENBACK. More than 1,000 riders from all over Britain will storm the main Lakeland Passes starting from and finishing at Coniston and completing a circular route 114 miles long. Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands, Whinlatter, Cold Fell and Hardknott and Wrynose Passes are all included – with their 1-in-3 gradients, twisting roads and hairpin bends. Local cycling clubs riding in the event will include Barrow’s Lakes Road Club, Barrow Central Wheelers, Black Combe Runners, Broughton Wheelers and Gill Cycles, Ulverston. Paul Loftus from Foxfield, who organises the Challenge, said: “The event has been named by Cycling Weekly as ‘Daddy of them all’. ‘Sportive’ events were very popular on the Continent, and the Fred Whitton was the first of its kind in England. “Now there are over 100 such events nationwide. But the Lakeland event is the most popular.
“It caters for cyclists of all persuasions, and is not classed as a race like the Tour de France. But riders are timed electronically so there is a competitive element.