News Sports

The 108th edition of the Tour de France got underway on Saturday 26th June 2021. The Grand Depart, originally due to take place in Copenhagen, was transferred to Brest, in the coastal region of Brittany, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also took place slightly earlier in the year than usual, to avoid the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games. The Grand Depart will now take place from Copenhagen in 2022 . This will be the first time the tour has visited Denmark in its 117 year history. It will NOT be an event to miss! But, for now, back to 2021.  As ever, the roster, at the start of the 2021 tour was stacked! As well as defending champion Tadej Pogacar, two time winner of the Vuelta a Espana, and former Tour de France runner up, Primoz Roglic was looking in good form ahead of the tour, fresh from winning the points classification at the 2021 Paris – Nice. Team Ineos – Granadiers were also fielding a strong team, with Richard Carapaz, Richie Porte, and former...

Get going. Get up and walk if you have to but finish the damned race. – Ron Hill Between 20 December 1964 and 30 January 2017, legendary British runner Ron Hill ran at least 1 mile everyday. That’s a total of 52 years and 39 days, or 19,032 days of running. 19032 – A Tribute   To rise From adversity From disappointment From a quiet northern town And to keep rising For 19032 days. And in those 19032 days To run his way From cinder tracks and starting blocks Into the hearts of thousands. To take his place In history. In legend. In the story that started On the road To Athens from Marathon.   To run To run and to Keep on running. For 19032 days Until he became As much a part of those streets As the ground beneath him Until they named streets after him. Solid and dependable. Steady as the beat Of his pounding feet. Of those northern soles. And his northern soul Would never tire of running. Not for 19032 days.   To run And to rise And in...

One of the UK’s most iconic and popular walking routes, the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge consists of 24 miles, 1585m (5200ft) of ascent, and, oh yeah, 3 mountain summits. The challenge is to complete the epic walk within 12 hours. No mean feat even for the keenest of walkers. Last week, on the 28th May 2021, a team from Sports Tours International supported charity The Running Bee Foundation, including six members of Sports Tours office staff took on the challenge. It was a brand new experience for everyone involved. The first hiking challenge in the foundations history, and a rip roaring success. On the morning of the hike, the team (of 26) met bright and early in Horton in Ribblesdale, ready for the challenge. The walk started at 8:06 (and those 6 mins are important when you have a 12 hour target time). It wasn’t long however, before they reached the top of their first peak, Pen- Y- Ghent. Below, you can see the team, flying the flag for The Foundation atop the summit. Next ca...

NEW for 2021!  Has lock-down given you the appetite for adventure? Maybe you’re looking for a new challenge in 2021? If so, here at Sports Tours International we have just the thing. Gravel Epic. This event series does exactly what it says on the tin, and so much more! Brought to you by the Haute Route Group, experts in multi day cycle challenges since 2011, the Gravel Epic series promises an incredible off road cycling adventure. Grave Epic 2021 brings you 2 events in totally contrasting and incredible locations. This is a challenging and unique race experience with second to none race services. When you race with the Haute Route Group, you’re getting as close to the pro rider experience as it is possible to be! Join is for an Epic Gravel adventure with Gravel Epic! The Gravel Epic race series takes you to two, totally different, but equally incredible locations. Gravel Epic Switzerland  Gravel Epic Switzerland will introduce you to alpine gravel racing at its finest!...

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 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 next few weeks we will be publishing four articles as part of our new “Training advice from England Athletics” series, which will provide you with invaluable advice, and training tips from Spencer Duval, who is the National Endurance Lead Coach for England Athletics. Up first, Issue 1 the training tips to help you prepare for your race…So, over to you Spencer.     Issue 1. The training tips to help you prepare. You’ve booked your trip, congratulations, the next step now is to start your training, and to prepare your body and mind for y...

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...

The Haute Route is well known as one of the toughest, most challenging cycling experiences, available to amateur cyclists. Equally the Haute Route Concept is centred around ‘delivering an unparalleled ‘professional’ experience for amateur cyclists’, in short, if you want to know what life is like in the mountains, for the professional peloton, then Haute Route is the way to go! Here at Sports Tours International, we’ve been working with the Haute Route since their very first edition in 2011. In that time we’ve built up a great knowledge of what we can do to support hundreds of cyclists, as they take on these iconic multi-day cycling events. From providing ideally located hotels, to guaranteed race entries and rider support from our experienced team; we know how to help you get the most out of your trip. In this blog, we catch up with a Haute Route veteran and a former Sports Tours International rider, who is now a Sports Tours International cycling rep, Chris Breckon. His insight...