CycloValberg Sportive.

Valberg Cycle Sportive, if Carlsberg did Cyclesportives!!?...

So the weekend is well over now but I still have a strong memory of the best cycle event I have ever been to! From the setting, to the course that was set, to the organisation, to the feed stations, to the value for money and the food and prizes after the ride. Everything was absolutely brilliant!

The stunningly beautiful rock colour we were welcomed with on our way to the Sportive.

We had only decided we would ride the “CycloValberg” event 2 days before on the Friday. In the UK if you wanted to ride a proper race you would have had to had entered online weeks even months in advance. Here, go online and in 2 minutes you have entered and paid what it due. Which smoothly brings me onto the price, €35. Which is around the £26 mark currently. The UK is now getting more and more people riding sportives and these are way more expensive, £40 or even above the £50 mark, and as I explain further you get a whole lot LESS for your money on these UK events.

The organisers gave you the option to sign on and pick up your number and goodie bag the night before, and as it was a 08:30 start many people did this. We choose to arrive later and get food, then sign on on the Sunday morning. Due to the option of the night before it was quiet, efficient and smooth! We check out our goodie bag and to our surprise we have a shirt, not a rubbish £1 one with basic print of the event on it, we have a proper cycling jersey which had to have cost them €15 even at cost price! Everyone gets one of these which is incredible.

The course they had laid out started in Valberg which is the top of a mountain, so intelligently we were neutralised down the descent and then set of to start the ride proper. I was very impressed with the number of out riders we had for safety and many volunteers on corners and junctions. On a UK sportive you would rarely see this...! There was three main climbs, all around the 40-50 min zone for me, so a tough course. The descents off these climbs were also as safe as descents can be. Very good road surface, good visibility and very quiet. Again, any super tight corners and there was a volunteer there to warn you and signage as well.

So the ride had food and water stops on the summit of the 2 climbs on the route and another half way up the long final ascent. Good food and plenty of water. thumbs up again. There was plenty of helpers on hand to speed up your re fuelling too in case you were doing the ride to get a good time. Too often I have seen UK events run out of some foods and even heard of the Dragon ride in Wales limiting people to one water bottle on a scorching day.

We end the ride and immediately our time is on the computer screen, excellent! There is more food and drink and coke if wanted here as soon as you finish. I different story when I did the pedal Norfolk event, I finished and there was zero water I could drink and the only food was for sale at escalated prices. So we had to ride back to the car and get money before we could refuel and rehydrate.

I do a bit of a warm down and Justin finishes, he informs me there are showers within a 5 min walk. Also a massage for free if we wanted it and “repas”... a MEAL! Wow this gets better and better. So we go to the food hall and to both our surprise we get a meal as good as any I have had during the Haute Route. All basic but all nutritious and healthy. Also I was allowed with a smile to have seconds and thirds! This gets a massive thumbs up again!! I love my food.

I wish the picture and my camera skill did this more justice....

So as you can probably tell we are pretty pleased with our day, and then they start the tombola. The first prize is a bike, by the looks of it worth €1500 possibly, then a set of wheels, helmet, shoes, arm warmers etc etc.... I would guess there was more than 75 prizes and with only around 100-120 people sat in the hall pretty much everyone got themselves a prize.

The sportive that just keeps giving!

Valberg sportive was excellent in every way!

I hope to see some of you there next year, this event certainly does deserve credit and the support of us all!

Thanks as always for reading.