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Increased Demand for Cotswold Winter Sportives Forces Venue Change

by Nick Gregory

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The monthly Cotswold mini-sportives, organised by Velo Events and sponsored by Performance Cycles, have proved so popular throughout the winter that a venue change has been required to accommodate the growing number of cyclists wishing to take part.

Despite the awful weather, since November demand for places has doubled, with Velo Events expecting more than 175 riders at each event come February and March.

The Mini-Sportives have been running for the past three years, with a format that is designed to be simple, cheap and less intense than the more punishing summer sportives. There is no electronic timing or feed stations, but the routes remain well signposted throughout. The Mini-Sportives offer good winter training rides, in a well organised group at a reasonable pace with mechanical back-up, free energy products for each rider and food and drink at the finish.

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"Despite the weather, everyone wants to be out on their bike in the winter and it's far easier to brave the cold, wet or ice when you're in good company and have a well planned route with full support. That's the whole point of our Mini-Sportives and it's why they continue to grow in popularity," says Andrew Kirk, managing director of Performance Cycles.

He continued: "We want to get as many people cycling for the pure joy of being on a bike as we can. More and more people are signing up for the rides because they are informal, but well organised with the reassurance of mechanical support, hot food and drink and even a shower at the end. Judging by the big increase in numbers this winter, I think we've found the right formula! It's the perfect way to clock up those much needed winter miles."

Performance Cycles has increased the rider limit from 100 to 175 for the next Mini-Sportives in February and March. For more details visit: http://www.performancecycles.co.uk/mini/. The rides will start at 9am (registration from 8.30am) with the aim of returning by lunch / early afternoon.

The new start point is Waterland Outdoor Pursuits at Lake 32 of the Cotswold Water Park, not far from Cirencester. Details of how to get there can be found on the Waterland website: http://www.ukwatersports.co.uk.