Bourne To Do It

An inaugural cycling festival in Lincolnshire was a resounding success — Cycling Weekly asks about the key components

- Michelle Arthurs-Brennan

With end-of-season morale on life support, driving into Bourne, Lincolnshire, to see a smattering of the 100 yellow bikes animating the inaugural CiCLE Festival provided a much-needed motivation.

It was around halfway through the 114km women’s race that I realised I was having the most fun I’d had at a bike race all year.

Four deep, smartphone-wielding crowds plus Classics-style roller-coaster roads with the (admittedly unplanned) addition of chipseal to keep riders on their toes added up to a race which swiftly revoked my growing desire to call this season my last.

In a climate where the number of races on the open road is dwindling, the Bourne CiCLE Festival burst on to the scene with a virgin event that was unique and impressive in equal measure.

Bicycles took over the town during the final weekend of August, attracting resident support and praise from riders in a way that few do. Race wins for Emily

Nelson (RST/Cycle Division Racing Team) and Ribble Pro Cycling’s Damien Clayton capped off a weekend of riding, where instead of the threat of tacks on the road that accompanies many new events there were ear-splitting roars of support from the roadside.

In a year where many local races have faced the threat of cancellation due to a lack of support, lack of marshals or even lack of riders, how did the Bourne CiCLE Festival get it so right?

“What we need to be doing is making races of individual character, and the Bourne CiCLE Festival races created that. We’ve got some great courses in this country, if people just go out and look for them, as opposed to sticking to the same 10-mile circuit because it’s easy,” said Colin Clews, who took on the role of race adviser, while former Essex Trophy promoter Brian Moran was the organiser.