Ride Stage 6 of the Tour of Britain

If you have been watching the Tour of Britain and want to be more than just a spectator - we have the perfect route for you to get on your bike and try. 

The multi-coloured peloton fills the road as it rushes past in the blink of an eye; over 100 of the world’s best, fastest, strongest riders sitting within an inch of each other at speeds of up to 40mph. The thrill of a professional bike race is something few will ever get to experience so we sit and watch in awe at the side of the road.

But why not get a few friends together one weekend and go and ride the Chilterns section of Stage 6 of the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain, to get a real feel for just how quick those guys are. Kop Hill may be a mere blip compared to Alp d’Huez for the pros, but believe us when we say it’s not as easy as they make it look.

CTC's Sara Randle has put together a 93 mile circular route through the Chilterns that incorporates the last 50 miles of the actual race route. For full effect the route starts in Hemel Hempstead so it also finishes there, completing the route as it would have been done. But there are plenty of train stations along the route so pick a start point and away you go.

The first half from Hemel Hempstead to Wallingford uses large sections of the Chilterns Cycleway as well as NCN routes and quiet lanes. Once at Wallingford, you join the official route and the roads get a bit busier, using dual carriageways and main A-roads. You should use your own judgement as to whether you wish to ride on these roads – it’s a lot different for the race as they’re closed! (We’ll be adding some alternative route suggestions over the next week to avoid the busier roads.)

You can view the Chilterns Tour of Britain Stage 6 route on Map my Ride and you can download the GPX file too. 

CTC was instrumental in bringing the Tour of Britain to the Chilterns, to find out more about cycling in the area and CTC's involvement with the project take a look at the Cycle Chilterns website.