Route…

Day 1: London to Portsmouth

90.7miles | 951m elevation | TCX File | Route

After some team photos and a rider briefing, we will all set off on our day 1 journey to Dover.

Our ride will start from Salesforce Tower, London at 6.30 am. After cycling through the outskirts of London, we will very quickly be in the peace and quiet of the Kent countryside. A mixture of uphills and downhills through the Kent villages we’ll arrive in Mersham for our lunch.

After lunch, we will continue our journey to Dover. The route is predominately flat, with only one small hill just before Dover. Upon arrival in Dover, we will board the 6.00 pm ferry to Dunkirk.

Aboard the ferry, you will get a well-earned break, a hot meal, and the chance to reflect on our day of cycling. We arrive in Dunkirk at 9.00 pm and will cycle the small distance to our hotel.

  • The total cycling distance is broken down into six sections as below.

    Distance - 90.1 miles
    Elevation - 978m
    Route file - TCX file

    • 05.45 am - Briefing & photos (Location)

    • 06.00 am - London to Benover (39.1 miles)

    • 09.00 am - Break

    • 09.30 am - Benover to Mersham (29.2 miles)

    • 12.00 pm - Lunch at The Farriers Arms, Mersham

    • 1.00 pm - Mersham to Dover (21.8 miles)

    • 3.30 pm - Arrive at Dover ferry terminal (Endpoint)

    • 4.30 pm - Check in for the ferry to Dunkirk

    • 5.30 pm - Cycle onto the ferry

    • 6.00 pm - Dover to Dunkirk ferry departs

    • 6.15 pm - Evening meal on board the ferry

    • 9.00 pm - Arrive in Dunkirk & cycle to the hotel (1.5 m)

    • 9.15 pm - Arrive at Campanile Dunkirk Hotel.

    There are water stations every 10-15 miles within each cycling section.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 - 14.7 miles

    Water station 2 - 15.1 miles

    Endpoint - 11.7 miles

    Total distance of section - 41.1 miles ______________________________________________________________

    After team photos and a briefing, we will set off in subgroups of 10-12 riders.

    The initial groups will be set by TFA, but you will have a chance to ride with other people later in the day.

    The first part of this section will start by going through the outskirts of London, but very quickly you will enter the peace and quiet of the Kent countryside.

    Your water stops will be in Orpington and in the village of Seal.

    Following this, you will pass through the villages of Plaxtol and Kemsing and arrive in Benover for a drinks and snacks break.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 (12.9 miles)

    Endpoint (15.8 miles)

    ______________________________________________________________

    After a 20-minute break in Yalding, we will set off in our subgroups again.

    We will continue to pass through the peace and quiet of the Kent countryside on a completely flat section.

    After 11.7 miles you will pass the first water station in the centre of Headcorn.

    After Headcorn, we will continue on our flat route and pass through the villages of Smarden and Bethersden before arriving in Mersham for our lunch at the Farriers Arms pub.

  • Start Point

    Section water station 1 (11 miles)

    Section water station 2 (7.5 miles)

    Endpoint (3.3 miles)

    ______________________________________________________________

    After a a 1-hour lunch break in we will set off in our subgroups again. on our final section for day 1 to Dover.

    We will continue to pass through the peace and quiet of the Kent countryside on an up-and-down route.

    After 10.1 miles you will pass the first water station in Lympe and then again after another 10.3 miles at Paddlesworth.

    After Paddlesworth, we will have just 7 miles left to our end point of the Dover Ferry Terminal.

    We will all then cycle onto the ferry and catch the 6.00 pm ferry to Dunkerque. On board, we will have our evening meal.

  • Start Point

    Endpoint (1.5 miles)

    ______________________________________________________________

    After team photos and a briefing, we will set off in subgroups of 10-12 riders.

    The initial groups will be set by TFA, but you will have a chance to ride with other people later in the day.

    The first part of this section will start by going through the outskirts of London, but very quickly you will enter the peace and quiet of the Kent countryside.

    After 12.6 miles you will pass the first water station in the village of Seal.

    Following this, you will pass through the villages of Plaxtol and Kemsing and arrive in Yalding for a break and drinks and snacks.

Day 2: Dunkirk to Ouddorp

114.6 miles | 263m elevation | TCX file | Route

After our morning rider briefing, we will all set off on our day 2 journey to Ouddorp, which, we’ll be honest, is a tough day. The route is entirely flat but there will be frequent water and food stations located at least every 10-15 miles along the way.

We will start by riding through the outskirts of Dunkirk, heading towards Veurne, Bruges and Brekens, via the French, Belgian and Dutch city and coastal cycle paths

When we arrive in Breskens we will catch the Westerschelde Ferry to Vlissingen. We will have a well-earnt break at this point knowing that we will have covered more than 75% of the day’s ride.

When we arrive in Ouddorp we will have a well-earnt rest and meal at our hotel, with the knowledge that we are only 70 miles from Amsterdam!

  • The total cycling distance is broken down into four sections as below.

    Distance - 114.5 miles
    Elevation - 162 m
    Route file - TCX file

    • 07.15 am - Briefing (Location)

    • 07.30 am - Dunkirk to Veurne (22.5 miles)

    • 09.00 am - Break

    • 09.30 am - Veurne to Bruges (30.7 miles)

    • 11.45 am - Break

    • 12.00 pm - Bruges to Breskens (22.1 miles)

    • 1.30 pm - Lunch & ferry to Vlissingen

    • 2.30 pm - Vlissingen to Ouddorp (38.68 miles)

    • 5.30 pm - Arrive at Fletcher Hotel, Ouddorp (Endpoint)

    • 8.00 pm - Evening meal at the hotel

    There are water stations every 12-15 miles within each cycling section.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 (11.1 miles)

    Endpoint (11.5 miles)

    After a morning briefing, we will set off in subgroups for our longest day of the challenge.

    The day will be long, but completely flat, going through the outskirts of Dunkirk and entering the French, Belgian & Dutch Kent countryside.

    After 11.1 miles you will pass the first water station in by Ghyvelde Church.

    Following this, you will continue up the coast for another 11.5 miles and arrive in Veurne for a drink and snack break.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 (10.4 miles)

    Water station 2 (10.2 miles)

    Endpoint (10.2 miles)

    After a break in Veurne, we will set off in our subgroups again.

    We will continue to pass through the peace and quiet of the Belgian & Dutch canal route, again, on a completely flat section.

    After 10.4 miles you will pass the first water station and then again after another 10.2 miles.

    Following the second water station, we will continue on our flat route for another 10.2 miles before arriving in Bruges for another snack stop.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 (10.2 miles)

    Endpoint (11.7 miles)

    After our break, we will set off in our subgroups again. on our final section before lunch.

    We will continue along the peaceful Dutch canal route towards Breskens.

    After 10.2 miles you will pass the first water station in Sluis and then after another 11.7 miles, we’ll arrive in Breskens for a well-earned lunch.

    At Breskens we will catch the Westerschelde Ferry to Vlissingen.

  • Start Point

    Water station 1 (12.8 miles)

    Water station 2 (12.7 miles)

    Endpoint (10.6 miles)

    _____________________________________________________________

    After a 1-hour lunch break in we will set off in our subgroups again. on our final section for day 2 to Oudorp.

    We will continue to along the peaceful Dutch coastal route crossing many brides as we cycle through the western islands.

    After 12.8 miles you will pass the first water station in Serooskerle and then again after another 12.7 miles at Bouwmansweg.

    After Bouwmansweg, we will have cycled more than 100 miles and will have just 10.6 miles left to our hotel.

Day 3: Ouddorp to Amsterdam

85.7 miles | 180 m elevation | TCX File | Route

After our morning rider briefing, we will all set off on our day 3 journey to the finish line, Amsterdam. Like day 2 the route is entirely flat and you will be cycling 88 miles. There are water and food stations at least every 10-15 miles.

Our ride will start with us all cycling towards Rotterdam. After crossing the Erasmus Bridge we’ll take a short break before heading towards Leiden, where we will be flanked by the beautiful backdrop of the traditional Dutch windmills.

We will continue our journey north along the edge of Leiden we will have our lunch knowing that we’ll have less than 25 miles of the day’s ride and the challenge left. I’m sure we will all be getting photos of windmills, lakes and canals and we will stop at lakeside cafe for lunch, hopefully in the sunshine!

After lunch, we will very quickly enter the outskirts of Amsterdam and then into the city. There are lots of junctions on the cycle paths, so it will be stop-start. We will remain in our groups until our finish line, the Salesforce Office, where will celebrate. After we will check into our hotel and have a celebration meal.