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If you’re riding a sportive with us, we want to use our experience to help you with your ride when the big day arrives. So we spoke to our Cycling Ambassador and the author of the 100 Greatest climbs books, Simon Warren to find out what crucial information you need to consider in preparation for your sportive. Simon is a vastly experienced rider, who as the title of the books suggest has completed hundreds of the world’s greatest climbs, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about riding iconic climbs. So over to you Simon… “It’s very unlikely that if you’ve entered a big sportive that it will be your first event and if so you will already have a decent degree of fitness and competency on two wheels. Hopefully you’ve been riding, or training regularly and your body is in good shape so let’s look at what else you can do to make your big day a success. First thing I would do is enter a trial event of a similar length and comparable altitude gain. Of course you can’t replicate an E

Ron Hill The Runner’s Runner , a documentary film celebrating the achievements of marathon legend Dr Ron Hill MBE. The film, producing by us, features Ron alongside his wife May Hill, and some of his close friends and colleagues from the running community including Dianne Modahl MBE and former 10km World Record holder and former race director of the London Marathon, Dave Bedford OBE. Ron with his Wife May and the Sports Tours International Team at the film’s Premiere. Ron talks about everything from his childhood, to University, meeting his wife, and how he came to find his passion for running. Among his many medals, records and accomplishments Lancashire born Ron, who turned 80 in September 2018, is known for not missing a single day of running for 52 years and 39 days. His incredible streak included a car crash in 1993 when he broke his sternum, and bunion surgery. During his career Ron has run in two Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964 and Munich 1972), and has a personal marathon re

Les Amis de Roubaix work to save the Trouee d’Arenberg for future editions of Paris – Roubaix Here at Sports Tours International we have been taking our riders to Paris – Roubaix for well over 20 years. After taking part in the June Paris Roubaix Cyclo Sportive for many years, we were there for the very first Paris – Roubaix Challenge. In recent years the event has gained massively in popularity and one of the most exciting cobbled sectors secteurs paves) is the Trouee d’Arenberg. Even though the recent editions of the Paris – Roubaix have taken place in good weather conditions, preparation for the course takes a lot of work. Throughout the year ‘Les Amis de Roubaix’ make sure that the cobbles are in good condition. If there is no maintenance then the moss and grass will make the cobbles unpassable for bikes. They would simply be too slippery. Read below about the work of this volunteer organisation and what you can do to help them. Sports Tours International have already donated to

We are pleased that we will again be the official tour operator for the UK and Europe for the 2020 Challenge Roth. Held yearly in Bavaria, Germany Challenge Roth is widely regarded as the biggest, the best supported and probably the fastest long distance Triathlon in the world.   BOOK YOUR PLACE AT THE 2020 CHALLENGE ROTH NOW HERE What’s so special about Challenge Roth? Challenge Roth is not only the biggest long distance Triathlon in the world, it’s also the best organised and it has the best race atmosphere and crowds. For those reasons it’s extremely difficult to get an entry and the event sells out within minutes every year. Roth offers the best long distance Triathlon race experience and should therefore be at the top of the list for any Triathlete. The course is  fast Even though Tim Don recently broke the Ironman branded race course record with a 7:40:23 at the Ironman South American Championship in Florianopolis, Germany’s Jan Frodeno holds the overall record for faste

One of our most popular UK Running events is only a few weeks away, we can’t wait to see the runners take on the Tour of Tameside. This is a unique running challenge that consists of 4 stages across 4 days. The event consists of a 10k, a fell race, a half marathon and a 7 mile race to finish. Here at Sports Tours International we love how the Running Bee Foundation events bring together local communities, it’s great to see that so many runners have a different story to tell. A group who are regular Tour of Tameside finishers who have a great story to tell are Daddies Escape, a Tameside based running group who are all dads who like nothing better than to slip on a pair of running shoes and pound the streets, come rain, snow or shine. We spoke with one of their runners Peter and found out more about this fantastic running group. So over to you Peter… “This year will be my fourth complete Tour of Tameside and without a doubt, it’s the thing I most look forward to on the running calendar

Some Cyclo-Sportives and Gran Fondos are so good that they are oversubscribed and they actually sell out. Not to worry as we are here to help. Find below our selection of the 10 best sell-out amateur cycling events that you can do right now with Sports Tours International. No 1 – The Etape du Tour When:  21 July, 2019 Where:  Albertville to Val Thorens, French Alps Field: 15000 riders Distance: 170 – 200km Ascent:  4200 to 5000m Climbs:  Cormet de Roselend, Val Thorens Accessibility: Fly into Geneva or drive Entry availability:   Entries are sold out on the Etape du Tour website. Guaranteed entries with Sports Tours International. What’s so special about it?:   This is your chance to ride a stage of the Tour de France, the greatest cycle race in the world. Every year you have the opportunity to test yourself against the riders of the pro Peloton on the exact same course on closed roads. The stage which is chosen usually alternates between a Pyrenean and an Alpine stage but

The Haute Route Mexico is a brand new event that will take place on October 18th to 20th 2019. I was invited to take part in the Test Event by Sports Tours International as we continue our connection with the Haute Route and look to support the spectacular events they run. Having been involved with Sports Tours International since 2013 and after riding several Haute Routes myself I was interested to see how this new event would compare and what it could offer to adventurous cyclists who are looking for a new location and a new challenge to test their legs. For a rider more used to cycling at between 200 to 300 metres of altitude in a north European climate there were two very obvious challenges which hit me about riding in Mexico. How would the humid almost tropical climate affect things, and how would my lungs cope with climbing at over 3500m? After arriving in Mexico City and enduring the infamous traffic jams and smog it was a rapid two hour van journey to Valle de Bravo which wil