The Wye Valley Warrior has previously been one of my favourite sportives, and the 2016 edition did not disappoint. It's part of the Wiggle Super Series that continues nationwide throughout the year and is organised by UK Cycling Events. 1100-1200 riders rolled up to Chepstow race course on Sunday 1st May. I was one of the last to show up around 8:30am and there was still ample parking at that time immediately opposite the race course. The weather was dry but with a promise of rain into the afternoon.
The previous year I had completed the 102 mile Epic course which warranted its 10/10 rating on the event website. This time around I toyed with the thought of the Standard 79 mile circuit, rated 7/10, but eventually downsized to the Short course, 41 miles, coming in at 6/10. GPS downloads were clearly available on the event website for each course along with maps and a pre-event briefing pack. The price of the event was £30.
The venue opened at 7:20am and registration ten minutes later. Epic course riders were off from 7:45am but I missed all of them as I was getting togged up in the car park. Shortly after 9am I wandered up to registration fully kitted up only to find it was "No cleats" inside. Off came my overshoes and shoes, and on entry it was clear that most of my fellow riders were already on the road. The upside was there was no queue for sign up or the toilets.
I got my helmet sticker, bike number and cable ties and went straight to the start, bypassing the various food outlets serving breakfast and a Wiggle stand selling cycling merchandise but remembering to put my shoes back on.
A short briefing ensued for the handful of stragglers and we were off. The course was great and there was some spectacular scenery. The first part initially ran slightly uphill but it was then fairly windy and fast, running high above the river in the valley below.
The ruins of Tintern Abbey flashed by early and the junction for the Epic and Standard routes came around the 13 mile mark. That headed off on a loop to the east including a food station. The Short route continued to follow the line of the river until the pretty town of Monmouth where all three routes converged. After a dash down main street the Epic course headed off on another loop and feed station while we approached the main climb of the day around the 17 mile point.
The climb seemed over a mile long and could be clearly viewed from the bottom even with a dogleg right hand bend. The gradients weren't silly at any point but just consistent, and just when you thought it was over there was one more slope to finish. On the plateau at the top, almost exactly at halfway, was the one feed station on the Short course at Trellech village hall. Bananas, fig rolls, flapjacks, jelly beans and various energy bars and products were among the items on the menu along with water and energy drinks. There were portable toilets in the car park and a mechanic on hand for running repairs.
The ride then headed downhill shortly after the feed station before one last main climb around 32 miles. This wasn't as hard as the previous climb, and the route then finished off winding downhill through some picturesque scenery back to the racecourse. It was clearly signed throughout and most of it was on good quality A and B roads but with very little traffic.
At the finish I received a medal and T-shirt. There was the opportunity for a 15 minute massage for £10 and the food outlets were serving a variety of fare.
The Wye Valley Warrior is a great ride and the 3215 feet of climbing also made it a challenge rather than just a blast around. I suppose the only potential area of improvement would be to make the Standard course around 60-65 miles rather than 79 miles; but then, if there is no appropriate route then there's no point in compromising the quality.
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