Articles

Our Irish Team Tell Us All You Need To Know About The KBC Dublin Marathon

Image
Martin Joyce, founder of Sports Travel International, which joined the Sports Tours International family of companies in 2018, talks us through his home town marathon, the KBC Dublin Marathon. “Ah Dublin, city of pubs and vibrant nightlife, literary and architectural wonders, warm hospitality – and a superb marathon on the last Sunday of October every year” The course is open for 7 hours. Walkers are welcome and start behind the runners at the same time. The route is one big loop around the city, north and south of the river Liffey. It starts on the broad Fitzwilliam Street in the historic Georgian heart of the city, and finishes just a few hundred metres away at beautiful Merrion Square. In between, you will run through the many old villages that now make up the city, including Chapelizod, Castleknock, Crumlin, Walkinstown, Terenure to name a few. Each community vies with the others to give the warmest reception to runners as they pass through, and the messages of support along

The Best 2020 European Cyclosportive and Gran Fondo Events

Image
At Sports Tours International we are proud to offer a wide selection of European amateur cycling events. Here is our pick of the best, in a list put together by Alex de Waard, keen cyclist and our Director of Product and Operations. Sports Tours International provide guaranteed entries to events, even those that are already sold out on official event websites. There’s no need to mess about with ballots here! As well as providing the entry, our aim is to provide the best support in the business, so you can simply focus on enjoying the event. You do not want to have to worry about the (sometimes complicated) logistics that come with getting to and from the event and that’s where we come in!. On our events single travellers can join our group and we provide a race briefing, additional food and assistance points along the course, and various other additional race services. To give you an overview of what’s available and what each event has on offer in terms of distance, difficulty, entry

We’ve teamed up with cycleGuard cycling insurance

Image
We are excited to announce cycleGuard as our official insurance partner for specialist cycle insurance. cycleGuard is a brand we share many values with as they have an established cycling heritage, having provided specialist insurance designed for cyclists for over 20 years. A trusted provider with a rating of 4.5/5 on Trustpilot they pride themselves on delivering a personal service to every cyclist that they help protect. To celebrate the partnership, cycleGuard are offering 10% discount to Sports Tours International customers off their first year’s premium. Click here to find out more. What cycleGuard policies offer Before you set off on your bike, you’ll want to know that you’ve got an insurance policy that can help keep you in the saddle. cycleGuard’s cover is designed for all types of cyclists, no matter how often you ride or what you own. cycleGuard cover highlights include: Cover in the UK and 30 days Worldwide We offer 30 days of travel as standard as part of our cycl

Keeping you rolling! A day in the life of a Sports Tours International Mechanic

Image
Sports Tours International has a team of expert mechanics on hand to help our clients out when they need it most. From a simple puncture repair, to a major breakdown; their job is get you back on the road as quickly as possible. We caught up with Roy Pearson, a skilled mechanic and veteran of dozens of Sports Tours International trips, to find out more about the work he does and some of the more unusual jobs he’s encountered! BUT FIRST, A BIT MORE ABOUT ROY… Roy built his experience servicing hundreds of bikes at Ribble Cycles and Dolan Bikes, building countless wheels at Hewitt Cycles, and survived Pro Cycling, without much sleep, at the Tour of Britain, when he worked for the United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team. As well as working as a mechanic, Roy is also one of our expert guides and has himself raced at an elite level. Not so long ago, he was in the same race as the Yates Brothers. So, when Simon Yates rode away from the entire GC, to the surprise of the world’s media, at the 20

Training advice from England Athletics: Issue 4. Race day final checks!

Image
Here at Sports Tours International we are immensely proud to be the official active holiday partner for England Athletics . In conjunction with  England Athletics , we want to help you prepare for your next big race with a few extra training tips. Whilst there are hundreds of training plans and tips out there, we want to bring you the best, and as such, have enlisted the advice of England Athletics and their experienced coaching team. Over the course of the past four weeks we’ve published articles as part of our new “Training advice from England Athletics” series, which aims to provide you with invaluable advice and training tips from Spencer Duval, who is the National Endurance Lead Coach for England Athletics. You have spent weeks training for your “A” race and now the big day is finally here, so how do you make the most of it? Issue 4: Race day final checks. Take it away Spencer. Rest assured, we have everything sorted when it comes to numbers and race day info. All you need

Be Smart with YOUR Time this Winter – with Helen Murray

Image
With short days, bad weather, and post Christmas blues; winter can start to feel like it’s dragging on forever, and equally it can be really hard, in winter to motivate yourself and get some training done. But that it doesn’t  have to take hours each day! Cheshire based coach Helen Murray has given us her top tips, to help you move more and improve your health and fitness, in just a few minutes each day. Over to you Helen… “I just don’t have the time!” It’s a phrase that I often hear and, like most other people. I too wish there were 25 hours in a day, and that three day weekends were standard. Of course, we can all choose how to spend the 24 hours we are given each day, but everyone’s time is precious. Once you’ve ticked off work, cooking, sorting the kids out, and ticking your way through your daily ‘to do’ list, taking time to do some exercise might not be your top priority. Therefore, it’s about being clever with your time!  Start by making small changes and focussing on wha

The Inside Tri Show with Helen Murray – In Partnership with Sports Tours International

Image
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve partnered with triathlon based podcast ‘The Inside Tri Show,’ to help bring you all the best triathlon news, tips, and insights. The host of the podcast is Helen Murray, who has experience on both sides of our triathlon experiences, both as an athlete and as a Race Host. So, who better to introduce Helen, and the podcast itself, properly than Helen herself. With that said, over to you…. Helen. I’m so thrilled and proud that the Inside Tri Show podcast will be formally teaming up with Sports Tours International – a company that I’ve had associations with, in one form or another, over the last five years. Let me explain! I’m a keen triathlete and, in 2015, when I took it all very seriously, I qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Austria.  Raceforce took my bike out to Austria for me, and the team on the ground went out of their way to quash my pre-race fears. Within six months, I went from being a Raceforce customer, to life on