Round Two in the British Gravel Series brings us to Suffolk for a fast & flat 52km race.
You will race 4 laps of a 13km course on a mix of wide fire roads and plenty of singletrack through the woods. This is one of the most fun tracks on the calendar and produces very competitive racing with small time gaps between groups. There are three separate races throughout the day:
Women’s race – 9.00am start
Open 50 plus – 12pm start
Open 19 to 49 – 3pm start
Set in Thetford Forest, this route starts near High Lodge and heads south over a 13km loop. The course takes in a mix of wide forest trails and some singletrack. The trails are a mix of gravel, hard packed mud & sand.
No sportive on the Sunday but there are plenty of great places to ride in Norfolk & Suffolk if you want a nice cool down spin. Ask us for some nice local routes.
There are three races on the day, a womens race at 9am, open over 50 starting at 12pm and open aged 19 to 49 race at 3pm. The race village opens at 8am and closes after podiums at 5.45pm
There will be a mechanic stand at the start and then on each lap you will pass a feed & mechanic stop. Leave a bottle or have a helper in the official feed zone.
29th April: Rider lists published and final route details sent out.
2nd May – 08.00: Race village at High Lodge opens. Registration is open 1hr before each race, the course opens for 45 mins before each race to ride a recon lap.
2nd May – 8.45: Pens open for Women’s race, start at 9am
2nd May – 11.45pm: Pens open for Open race aged 50+, start at 12pm.
2nd May – 2.45pm: Pens open for Open aged 19 to 49, start at 3pm.
2nd May – 5.45pm: Final podiums and race village close.
Please note this route is subject to some small changes. We will send out the final route to all participants one week before the race.
The race is 4 laps of a 13km lap for a total of 52km. Starting with a 600m straight gives riders enough time to fight for the front ahead of the 90 degree right turn.
The first section of singletrack comes 1km in, this is guaranteed to split the field with the 700m section twisting through the trees.
This is followed by 5km of fast and flat gravel, with some grassy and bumpy sections thrown in for good measure. The next singletrack section features some sandy berms along one of the High Lodge trails before a 600m wide open gravel track, a chance to gather yourself or put the power down and open the gap on your rivals.
The last two singletrack sections are fast and flowing before the final 2km of jostling for position into the turns before sprinting for the finish
Our race is based at High Lodge in the middle of Thetford Forest on the Suffolk / Norfolk border. This is a massive forest full of other bike trails and activities for all the family.
If you are staying over for the weekend, East Anglia has some great gravel routes including the famous Peddars Way, the Rebellion Way (Norfolk) and the Wolf Way (Suffolk).
Got any questions on this race, our race series or want to partner with us? Send us a message on the form and we will get back to you within 1 business day.
We will send out information closer to the race based on trail conditions. The terrain here is a mix of fast fire roads, twisty hard packed singletrack & some sandy sections.
With little elevation on this route, you will want something quick but a tyre that can handle the sandy sections and any mud / wet leaves in the singletrack.
You can leave a bottle or bag at the official feed zone which you go past at each lap. Early May in Suffolk should be nice, you can leave a layer / jacket at the start line so you don’t get cold in the pens.
We have a mechanics station by the feed zone but bring spares to be self sufficient for other parts of the route.
Riders may use any type of bike (road bike, mountain bike, city bike, hybrid bike, cross bike, etc.) with the exception of tandems, E-bikes, recumbents and time trial bikes
All riders will finish on the same lap as the leader of their gender in their race, any lapped riders finish position will be based on the number of laps completed and then on order over the finish line. For example, in a four lap race, if you are lapped by the leaders whilst you are still on lap three your race will finish when you cross the finish line at the end of your third lap. You will still appear in the race results with your finish position calculated based on number of laps completed and order across the finish line at the end of your last lap.
All riders should bring their own tools and spare tire or tubular to the race. Tools are available in the feed zones to give riders the opportunity to fix other problems. Riders can change wheels during the event, but have to use the same bike frame throughout the event.
There is a feed zone & tech zone at the finish of each lap. Riders can leave a bottle in the feed zone or have a supporter handing out bottles / gels etc within the official feed zone.
You will race against people in age categories for both the Women’s and Open races:
19 – 39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+
Each category will be identified by specific coloured race & body numbers. Where applicable, we will start riders within their category. There will be podiums for each age category.
Our of all our races, this route makes gravel racing accessible for anyone. At the front of the race we will have a good field of elite men & women racers but this would make a great first race due to the flat terrain with a mix of smooth gravel & singletrack.
Registration is open one hour before each race (8am to 9am, 11am to 12pm, 2pm to 3pm). You can collect your race number at any of these times.
You will also have some time to ride the course before pens open for the race.
The race starts at High Lodge (Thetford Forest, High Lodge, Brandon IP27 0AF). The nearest train station is Thetford, just over 6 miles away.
Parking at High Lodge is available for £5
There will be a spectator area within the race village where you can see riders go past each lap.
High Lodge is a major tourist destination with lots to do for non-riders. If you are bringing kids that love cycling, there are plenty of family friendly routes or they can enjoy walking trails in the forest, Go Ape, play area, disc golf & more.