Isle of Wight Cycling Festival

The Isle of Wight Council took over as the main organisers of the Isle of Wight Cycling Festival in 2000 with the support of local cycling clubs and organisations. Working alongside Isle of Wight Tourism, it has established the Isle of Wight as a leading destination for cyclists, as well as providing a programme of events that would benefit the Island’s cycling community.

Each day of the week-long festival will offer cyclists the opportunity to sample different cycling routes that will take in the most picturesque areas of the Island as well as local landmarks and the occasional country pub. It includes popular events such as ‘Cycle the Wight’, a 65 mile road route around the Island’s spectacular coastline and ‘The Hills Killer’ a challenging orienteering ride set against the clock. As part of the festival’s launch day there will be the humorous ‘Sink or Swim’ competition and a fantastic free Cycle Show and mountain bike stunt display.

For the super fit, two triathlons have been added to the programme. The Wight Challenge: a 32km cycle ride, a 16km run and a 4km open canoe race (www.wightchallenge.co.uk) and the West Wight Triathlon: a 35km cycle ride, a 600m pool swim and a gruelling 7.5km run (www.westwight.co.uk/triathlon).
A complete programme of rides will be available on the website (www.sunseaandcycling.com) and from the festival programme (available from Island tourist information centres) in June.