The BikeRadar King of the Mountains Challenge kicked off last week; already 109 members are taking part in the challenge with 20 of those having already hit the 3050m target being automatically entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a Mio Cyclo 305 HC.
The competition is about to heat up with the introduction of two new members, Future Publishing's Kirsty Harries and John Whitney (BikeRadar) are taking part in a battle of the sexes to decide which gender is best at cycling.
The battle is on between Kirsty and John to see who will rack up the most amount of climbing during their cycle rides in August. Kirsty is currently training to take part in the Cent Cols challenge which involves climbing 100 Cols in ten days, cycling approximately 200 kms per day with a rough average of 4,500 metres of ascension on each stage. John is cycling The Haute Route which involves 7 stages from Geneva to Nice, 21,000m of climbing in total and 780km distance. Both thought they would have the upper hand and a sure victory as they were unaware of the other’s plans so the competition is now well and truly on!
Kirsty says: “After the devastation of losing my mother to cancer last year, I knew I was on a difficult journey and wanted to have something to strive for to get me through the dark days. Training has been difficult, emotionally as well as physically. I have not been able to get out on my bike as often as I'd like due to the bad weather we have been experiencing (I hate riding in the rain) but also the fact that I'd broken my toe, which scuppered my running and circuit training. I had reached that point where my enthusiasm for training was beginning to wane when Mark Cantwell asked whether I was up for this Boy vs Girl challenge, which was just the added incentive I needed to reignite my enthusiasm. Not that I'm competitive at all.”
John says: “The Haute Route is easily the biggest cycling challenge I’ve ever taken on and, like Kirsty, I haven’t been able to make the most of my training because of the rotten weather we’ve had this summer. I thought I had my work cut out with seven stages over 780km and 19 cols, but hearing what’s in store for Kirsty means I’ll sleep a little easier next week in the run-up to the start in Geneva on 19 August.”
We’ll report back on their progress in coming weeks.
You can also join The King of the Mountain Challenge. Everyone who logs over 3050m of climbing will automatically be entered into a prize draw and one lucky winner will win the Mio Cyclo 305 HC, there will also be ten exclusive BikeRadar Training Tshirts up for grabs for people who log over 1000m of climbing in the month. To take part all you need to do is join the training group here and start logging your rides.
Climb a lot of hills? Start logging them for your chance to win prizes!
BikeRadar Training is a free online resource for you to record and analyse all aspects of your training, log your training routes, get yourself tailored training plans, see how you're doing on our leaderboards, set goals and plan your season with a comprehensive events guide.