"GBDURO? Best described as a scrappy rolling picnic through Britain's ever changing landscapes" Anonymous
Professional cycling has lost its way... in July 2019 TdF riders battled with extreme weather (temperatures exceeded 40 deg C on Stage 16, followed by freak hailstones and infamous stage-stopping landslide on Stage 19); the race was won by a team bankrolled by a petrochemical giant. Meanwhile in January 2020 bush fires raged throughout Australia as riders were trying to kick-off the Tour Down Under; another race with an eye-watering carbon footprint, sponsored by a oil&gas major and an airline. Since then, there have been numerous instances where pro cycling has felt the effects of extreme weather taking on the role of both victim and perpetrator.
It wasn't like this in the past. It cannot be like this in the future. What if we made cycling purely about cycling? What if we used sport to drive innovation in sustainability? It is time cycling got un-lost... GBDURO is our vision of what sustainable sport could look like. |
Traditionally, GBDURO is a 2000km self-supported bikepacking enduro from Land's End to John O'Groats on road, gravel, singletrack, and everything in between. The event follows our GBDIVIDE route designed to embrace the versatility of 'all-road' bikes to cover big distances on new roads and ancient ways, immersing riders in the rich and unique history that has shaped the British Isles. The ride consists of 4 timed stages (~500km each); lowest aggregate time over the 4 stages 'wins'... nothing.
For 2024, we'll be hosting a 'no frills' edition as described above, meaning we'll follow our newly created 'GBDIVIDE Cape Wrath variant', which is identical to our original route, apart from the last 150km. GBDURO has been a #noflyride since 2020 i.e. riders must get to/from the start/finish without taking a flight. This was because having the burden of riders' carbon emissions from flights on our conscience didn't sit right with us (more details here). This is part of our wider mission to extend 'leave no trace' principals to beyond just the road/trail and we have been delighted by riders' commitment and ingenuity to make this a reality. Over the years we are proud to have welcomed riders from over 15 different nationalities and have witnessed no-fly ride commutes from over 11 different countries. |
GBDURO21
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GBDURO19
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