Racing against the sun

It’s 3am on the Isle of Sheppey, a small adjunct off the northern coast of Kent. It has been a raucous night and a few remaining England fans are still celebrating last night’s emphatic 0-0 draw with Scotland. I’m heading to the start line of Chase the Sun. At 330km (or 205 miles in old money) it’s the longest one-day cycling event in the UK.

‘Riding from the first ray of sunrise to the last ray of sunset, coast to coast, on the longest day of the year,’ is the concept in a nutshell according to Olly Moore, the accidental founder of an event that this year has attracted more than 600 cyclists to this area of marshland some 70km from London.

Undeterred by the brutally early start – that ‘first ray’ comes at 4.41am – riders are beginning