Archer Sportive - 28-06-2007

Please see below - I have not copied the attachments to save page weight.

Anthony

Dear club secretary or rider,

It is hoped that many of your club members will be interesting in

riding the Archer GP Chiltern Classic Sportive on Sunday, 5th August

2007. Starting and finishing in Gt Missenden, it will follow a route

of approximately 101 miles taking in all or parts of the six circuits

used in the 52 years of this classic race. The sportive version is

not a race and runs under the normal rules of the road, so it is

possible to return to hills and lanes discontinued for the race

because the scale of the race has grown to make narrow lanes

impractical or traffic restrictions had made other parts of that

circuit unusable.

A good example of this is the return to The Hale, near Wendover, used

only in 1959 when the winner, professional champion (the late) Ron

Coe, criticised the width of the lane for a major event. He was

right, but now The Hale is a quiet by-lane signposted as suitable for

cycle touring. Perhaps a further sign suggesting a very low gear

should be added! Whiteleaf hill, in the current race route, will be

climbed twice, plus Hughenden, Longdown, Gore, Chesham, Penn Woods,

Witheridge, and others that have seen great deeds by riders over the

years of Olympic and World Champion status.

Past winners of the Archer International GP are being invited to take

part and although not a winner, among the first is ex-professional,

team principal and cycle shop owner Phil Corley who has declared his

intention to ride and hopes to bring along a number of other vintage

professionals.

Organisation of the event is in the expert hands of Graham Temple,

promoter of the very successful Forest of Dean Sportive for the past

two years, heading the same organisational team. Graham is a long

standing member of the Archer RC and will be applying the same high

standards as for the grand prix race itself. Although it is not a

race, riders will have individual transponder timing, there will be a

'goody bag' for every rider, showers at the finish, signage of the

highest standard both for routing and safety, feeding stations and

everything you would expect of an Archer RC promotion.

The entry fee is £20 and more details will soon be available on

www.archergp-sportive.co.uk although an entry form is attached

herewith for you immediate use. Arrangements are in hand for on-line

entry which should be available very soon. Any profits will go

towards the extremely high costs of organising the main Archer GP,

especially paying for the road closure order and police support to

carry out that order..

For a lesser challenge to cater for less experienced newcombers to

cycling, or those of more senior years, the Amersham RCC is linking

up to provide a 50-mile sportive through the lanes skirting Tring,

Ivinghoe and Aylesbury to provide a much less demanding route, albeit

with the sting in the tail of Whiteleaf just five miles from the

finish. The entry fee is £12, without some of the extras on the main

event, with 50% of the profit going to the MND Association charity

(Motor Neurone Disease). An early entry came from Bill Houghton,

Unity CC, who rode in the original Archer GP 52 years ago, but who

accepts that the main event this time might be too much of a

challenge!

Whether looking for a real challenge to emulate the road racing stars

of the grand prix, or for a more personal challenge in the 50-mile

event, we do hope to see you and your members on 5th August.

Regards,

Stuart

www.archegp-sportive.co.uk