Event details

The Essex Roads ‘Autumn Leaves’ Sportive
Sunday 23rd September 2012.

Dear Sportive Rider

The Essex Roads Autumn Leaves Cyclosportive is now booking, and you are invited!
We love sportives, in fact, so do all our riders. Our 2009 Spring Lambs Sportive as featured in Cycling Weekly on 16th April 2009 was a great success. Cycling weekly said: - "this was an event superbly organised, run on idyllic country cycling roads with virtually no traffic", - "the amazing thing is that the ride start/finish is only 20 miles outside London!" So, now is the time to book , and it couldn’t be easier than logging on to Sportident and you are straight into the "Essex Roads Autumn Leaves" event. Don’t forget that the event is limited to 500 riders so please book soon to secure your place.

The ‘Autumn Leaves’ is a hilly sportive in Essex organised by the Essex Roads Cycling Club www.essexroads.com based in Billericay, Essex. Twisting and turning its way through quiet country lanes the 150 kilometre route searches out the best undulations of the North and West parts of the county, providing a surprising challenge for the late season sportive rider. For those looking for fast final times - the return leg of the route gives the opportunity to raise average rider speed with a blast over the central Essex plains. The route also offers some of the best rural outlooks through the villages and farmlands of the county. This is a different route than that covered by our Spring Lambs event earlier in the year and sets new challenges for the sportive rider.

The event will be electronically timed at the start/finish with a fully signposted route and strategic marshals in the early stages. For those riders with sat-navs a full gpx track file is available for downloading. There will also be two manned feed stations at strategic points provided with a variety of refreshments (including energy bars, gels, cake, energy drinks and water) at no extra costs to riders. All rider results are available at the finish and from this website (www.essexsportive.com).

The event starts and finishes at Hannakins Farm, Billericay and a location map is provided showing nearby road and transport routes. The event HQ is also easily accessed from the main line Billericay railway station and the A12. Parking is available at the event headquarters and shower facilities are available at the finish together with further refreshments. All riders are provided with bike numbers and Phil O’Connor Photography Limited will be present on the day providing downloadable photographs for those who wish to remember their endeavour.

The start time of the event is 09:00 a.m. Please arrive early and from 07:30 to book on to the event. All entries are via the Sportident website. Please note that due to the increasing popularity of this sportive THERE WILL NOT BE ANY FACILITY TO PAY OR ENTER THIS EVENT AT THE VENUE ON THE DAY – YOU MUST PRE - BOOK VIA THE SPORTIDENT WEBSITE LINK TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE. The maximum number of entrants to the sportive is as stated 500 so please book in advance to save any disappointment on the day.

Entry fees are as follows: -
£15 Essex Roads CC members pre-booking via the Sportident entry portal
£20 non-Essex Roads CC members pre-booking via the Sportident entry portal

For further information on the event please email: sportive@essexroads.com.