I would like to invite you along on my La Ronde du Picardie Sportive trip in 2012. This 3 day trip between 7th to 10th September 2012 will allow you to ride the official La Ronde du Picardie sportive and ride up through the Somme over 3 different distances of 185km, 131km or 53km. Places are limited to only 10 so book now to ensure your place (we need a minimum of 4 to go).
Before you sign up for a trip it is recommended you read our terms and conditions. Go to terms and conditions
Highlights
Riding through Bay of Somme.
Hands on advice from Dan Bennett about pre-event preparation, how to ride the event, feeding, tactics and assistance with mental preparation.
Breakfast and dinner included from Friday evening to Sunday morning.
Travel to and from the UK to Abbeville.
Entry to the event.
Safe bike/luggage transfer from the a UK central pickup point.
Complementary pre-event, during event and post event ride food throughout the trip.
The 188km route includes 1500 meters of climbing -- Traverse the very famous Bay of Somme, alternating promenades with its coastline, cliffs, its famous "sand road" but also its diverse inner landscapes, ponds, buildings ...
Food stops on the course (run by the event organisers are at The Hourdel (98 km) and Domart en Ponthieu (156 km).
Whats not included
Alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks (apart from race drinks)
Lunchtime meal
Travel Insurance (please supply us with a copy of your insurance policy)
For more details from the event organisers use the following link.
Our happy clients came along to La Ronde du Picardie sportive on 2009 and La Ventoux sportives in 2010 kindly wrote these words about their experiences.
‘In my experience a sportive abroad isn’t usually so stress free. So how can it be a great challenge but relaxing at the same time? Well it's down to Dan’s organisational skills and advice. The whole trip was brilliantly planned and just the right pace. We knew what we were doing and when and importantly what the strategy on race day was. Dan had us thoroughly prepared for the race (reminder - I must get that training programme) relaxed, fuelled and well versed in the course. Plenty of great food on and off the bike with exactly the right amount of well crafted recovery and post race banter.‘
Simon Hughes (Gold medal winner!!)
The trip was well organised with impeccable catering and accommodation. (excluding my odd roommate ha ha)
Dan provided all participants with loads of useful tips and information. We had plenty of time for a pre event ride and recognisance of some of the tricky (both technical descents and the challenging climbs and final run in to finish) parts of the course which helped tremendously in the event itself. After a dip in the pool we had time to discuss our objectives for the next day and finalise feeding and ride strategies. We also worked out target completion times and an accurate time schedule for the course giving indicators of being up or down on the target time. This combined with the production of water proof pocket cards with distance and profile enabled me to follow my schedule and hit my target time. In fact improve it by about 10 mins. The card caused many a jealous look as I dig it out every now and then to see when the next down hill or feed would be. We had a few laughs and some great food as well.
The tip was good value and Dan is both informative from is coaching and his obvious experience as a rider and very flexible. He was able to accommodate my alternative traveling arrangements with no problem.
I would definitely go on this or similar trips again with him or his company
James Stone
"I prepared for 6 months for climbing Ventoux by following a superb training plan from Dan Bennett at www.progressivecyclecoaching.co.uk. As a result of this, the climb was pretty easy and I was able to ride along quite happily, singing along to my ipod. Lots of interesting flowers en route, especially when you get to the top part of the climb. I saw tiny purple pansies growing out of the rocks, and I wasn't hallucinating! I think the keys to the climb are lots of training, lots of patience and lots of water. Good Luck!"
