SPORTIVES | Jersey Cycling Festival

SPORTIVES | Jersey Cycling Festival

Jersey Cycling Festival

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to CoinCide with the Tour Series’s first visit to Jersey, the island hosted a two-day cycling festival. Jocelyn Mack went along to ride the sportive and soak up the atmosphere

www.tourride.co.uk | @thetourride

terrain: Rolling with no major hills

distance

62 miles

Total ascent

999 metres

Participants

270

52 SEPTEmbER 25, 2014 www.cyclingweekly.co.uk www.cyclingweekly.co.uk SEPTEmbER 25, 2014 53

A rainbow blur of Lycra, the soft whir of wheels and the crackle of applause as a peloton of around

50 riders sped past. I had arrived on Jersey the weekend of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series, the final round in the 10 stage race. It was the first time the event had visited the small island and the first time a sportive had ever been held there.

While you can catch a ferry over to the Channel Islands I opted for speed and took a plane. As we glided closer to the island I was greeted with views of sandy beaches, clear blue waters and palm trees swaying on the breeze. It can be hard to believe that this island makes up part of the British Isles when it sits just 14 miles off the Normandy coast of France, in the bay of St Malo.

Touching down on the Friday meant I could soak up the atmosphere of the festival

weekend that began with the elite riders’ hill-climb. It was certainly not a climb for the faint-hearted and just walking up to watch the riders took it out of us. I was hoping that us mere mortals wouldn’t have to tackle anything so steep the following day on the Tour Ride sportive.

Compact islandAt just nine miles by five you may, quite rightly, question the suitability of such a compact piece of land like Jersey for clocking up miles on your bike. But with over 350 miles of roads, byways and lanes and a 50-mile network of ‘Green Lanes’, this island is akin to dr Who’s Tardis.

The ride rolled out from the harbour of Gorey at the foot of the castle of Mont Orgueil. From here both the 50 and 100km routes headed to the capital, Saint Helier, which did mean the first few miles were on relatively busy roads, most of which are narrow. I suppose this is one occupational hazard of riding on a small island

— you will have to head through a town at some point. But once this busy section had been traversed we picked up a cycle path for a short section along the seafront before briefly heading inland towards Saint Brelade.

The road snaked its way upwards, giving our legs a chance to push against gravity. I went past a six-strong group of oompa loompas walking on the quiet road and wondered if the sea air was causing me to hallucinate.

As the road began to make its way down again I caught a glimpse of the sea through a small gap in the hedges and soon an outcrop of rocks that loomed over the coastline. Turning a bend we were greeted by two paragliders floating effortlessly above the rocks. What an view they must have had along Jersey’s coastline, and with surfers taking on the waves of the English Channel it was a snapshot of the Jersey life.

wrong turnAs the route made its way to travel down the spine of the island, I found myself on a garage forecourt with a handful of other riders. We had missed a sign and were attempting a quick turnaround to

get back on track. A few more signs wouldn’t have gone amiss, especially to give riders a heads- up at turns. Eventually we found ourselves on lanes flanked by fields of Jersey Royals, beautiful golden-coloured cows and honesty boxes on most corners. These were Jersey’s Green Lanes, a network of rural roads where walkers, cyclists and horse riders have priority and vehicles are limited to 15mph. I saw one car. Bliss.

As I rolled back into Gorey, the cycling festival was in full swing with music and drinks flowing. And, in the interests of recovering in style, I celebrated Jersey’s first sportive with a well-earned bacon bap and glass of Prosecco. Cheers!

King of the CastleWhile I didn’t compete myself for fear of a broken limb, the King of the Castle urban downhill was an impressive finale to the weekend. The cycling festival that surrounded the event was well-planned and offered entertainment and lots of food and drink.

Watching the race go through the castle of Mont Orgueil and down onto the harbour with a drink in hand was a great way to finish off the trip, and it drew a big crowd.

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How to get thereI flew BA from Gatwick. There are flights from all major UK airports with Easyjet heading over there direct, too. Book early enough and you can purchase a return from around £80.www.britishairways.comwww.easyjet.com

Where to stayBeausite hotelJust over one mile from the start line, this comfy hotel boasts an indoor pool and a cocktail bar housed in the original part of the hotel, dating back to 1836.01534 857577www.beausitejersey.com

Pros aplenty on Jersey’s roads

Picturesque views on the coast

Hundreds joined the festivities

Ready to go at Gorey harbour

Jersey Cycling Festival / tour Ride Jersey June 13-14