BEST OF THE REST
01 Tour of Flanders
5 April, Belgium
A million roadside fans including neardelirious local support concoct arguably the greatest atmosphere in professional bike racing, aside perhaps for an Alpe d’Huez Tour stage. Making his debut in 2020 will be Julian Alaphilippe, France’s latest beau who rides for Deceuninck–Quickstep, the Belgian super team who value a Flanders win above all else. Alaphilippe, who went agonisingly close at the Tour de France last year, has switched his focus back to one-day races for this season.
02 Dirty Reiver
17-18 April, Northumberland
We rode this gravel race in Kielder Forest last April, where our correspondent reported that it “was hard to know what hurt more: the palms of my filthy hands, which had been pummelled pink and raw, my cramp-infested calf muscles or my back, which ached at the bottom and was excruciating at the top”. That’s a snapshot of this treacherous gravel ride, which stretches to a demoralising 200km across unruly “ping pong ball-sized gravel”. Are you up for the challenge of Dirty Reiver?
03 Battle on the Beach
18-19 April, Llanelli, Wales
It’s hard to argue that Britain’s
