British Cycling has announced that sportives and other non-competitive cycling events can resume in England from Saturday 5 September 2020, under new guidance approved by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The news will come as a relief to sportive organisers across the country. While a small number of events have taken place over the summer, most sportives - including all those affiliated with British Cycling - have been either cancelled or postponed.

Look who's back! British Cycling have given clearance for sportives to resume from 5 September.
Look who's back! British Cycling have given clearance for sportives to resume from 5 September.

Some restrictions will remain: events will initially be capped at 600 riders, while a number of new measures will ensure a safe and Covid-secure environment.

Key points include:

  • Participants will not ride in groups of more than six at any point during the event, in line with current Government guidance for group riding.
  • Riders will be released from the start line in waves of no more than six riders, with waves departing at 45-second intervals. Start times will be allocated to ensure that no more than 24 riders are in the vicinity of the start line at any time.
  • Organisers must ensure that event village, feed station and start/finish infrastructure is large enough to accommodate social distancing, and that riders can access their goody bags, medals or refreshments via a 'self-serve' system.
  • Events must also ensure that they are aware of and adhere to any relevant local restrictions.
The full guidance can be found on the British Cycling website. Since placing a ban on affiliated sportives taking place near the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, British Cycling has been working closely with DCMS and Sport England alongside colleagues representing athletics, triathlon and the major events sector to develop a framework for resuming larger-scale events. Yesterday's update, say British Cycling, "builds on our general guidance for organising events, which can be found in The Way Forward: Planning a safe return to cycle sport events, and we continue to work hard with relevant stakeholders to plan for a safe return to road racing once the Government guidance permits."

"Sportives and non-competitive event are an incredibly popular recreation activity, often raising significant sums for good causes, bringing communities together and providing participants with new challenges and goals."

British Cycling's Cycling Delivery Director, Dani Every, said:

"After an incredibly successful re-introduction of some competitive events earlier this month, I'm delighted that we are now able to resume sportives and other non-competitive events from September 5th.

"Due to the greater number of participants involved we have been cautious in our approach and worked closely with event organisers, colleagues in Government and representatives from other sports. Our first priority is always to ensure that events are delivered safely and in a Covid-secure manner, and through this guidance we believe we have achieved that while also retaining the features which make these events so popular for participants and volunteers alike.

"We have a number of great events set to take place on the first weekend of September and I'm sure that thousands of our members and cyclists generally are already gearing up to show their support for local organisers, and tackle what for many will be their first big cycling challenge of the year.

"There's so much more to these events than just a bike ride - they promote community cohesion, support local causes and support many to achieve goals that they never thought possible - and after the wave of enthusiasm we have seen for cycling this year we hope to see them go from strength to strength in the months and years ahead."

Sportives are important fundraisers for many charities.
Sportives are important fundraisers for many charities.

Ahead of the publication of the new guidance, British Cycling consulted with event organisers in an interactive webinar, giving them the chance to ask questions and discuss the practicalities of holding a sportive event in the current climate.

One of the first sportives to take place now restrictions have been eased will be the 2020 Great Exmoor Ride, on Sunday 6 September, challenging riders to 1,600m of climbing over the 66-mile route and raising money for charity partner Prostate Cancer UK in the process.

Event organiser, Darren McKimm, responded to the announcement from British Cycling:

"We've continued to plan and constantly adjust throughout all the uncertainty and it now looks like our Great Exmoor Ride on Sunday 6 September will be one of the very first events to take place following the lifting of the current suspension, so of course we're really pleased to see it going ahead.

"Our riders are definitely looking forward to getting back out there for a challenge and a great day's cycling as part of a really enjoyable event, and it's great to be able to provide that again."

Check out our events calendar for a list of upcoming sportives:

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