How tough is the pro Tour ride - Stoke on Trent

gelkoman

Hi,
I' initially signed up for the challenge tour ride in Stoke on Trent in September. Out of stupidity / a desire to challenge myself I have opted to ride the pro ride instead.

However, I've not been able to do as much training as I would have liked - and nowhere near the ammount suggested in the training guide that has been sent out by the Prostate charity. I've done a couiple of centurty rides over the summer, though not particularly quickly (7 hrs) , however these have not been on ground as hilly as the Stoke ride seems to be on.

I wont be able to do the route befoire the day and wondered how horrendous it is? I know the route is longer than last year, though wondered if anyone did it last year / knows the route?

Thanks

benjboy

Did it last year and yes it was hard but it can be done.You should try and get in at least 3 or 4 Hilly 75 to 80 miles in your legs between now and the ride.On the day make sure you eat and drink plenty and don,t go to hard at the start.Try to get into a good group and pace yourself on the climbs and mostly enjoy yourself .

MrZ

You'll be fine, it's good to challenge yourself
I entered last year 4 days before, had never ridden more than 25 miles before and only been on a road bike 6 times. On the start line my Shimano shifter ratchet broke so I lost half my gears. I got round, albeit slowly and loved it.

It's a great event, have done 8 or 9 Sportives since including the Etape and the Tour ride was one of the best organised and enjoyable.

gelkoman

Thanks for the advice. I will try and do another century before the event - and am going to do some hill repeats too.

shakey88

It's not as hard as the south west stage which is what i signed up for.Gulp