Two cities, one cause: Rapha Manchester to London 2026 report

More than a sportive, Rapha’s annual Manchester to London ride for Ambitious about Autism is a test of endurance: a journey that demands everything, and gives back more.

Rapha Manchester to London is a sportive unlike any other. Yes, it is beautiful, and yes, it is tough; but most of all, it is a ride with a strong sense of purpose: a feat so demanding and testing that just for one day, in a small way you might understand the struggle and vulnerability that children and young people with autism go through every day of their lives. 

The ingredients for a great bike ride are all there. The premise is simple: one day in June, you and a group of like-minded cyclists ride 220 miles (350km) from the Northern Powerhouse of Manchester to the UK’s capital city, London. The route is tried and tested, and despite not being a closed roads event, it makes for excellent cycling.

From Manchester the route leads you into the beautiful Peak District via Disley on to a few testing climbs with postcard-worthy scenery reward on top and flowing descents before taking a slightly hidden path onto the Monsal Trail, a disused railway line-turned-gravel section with a few lit tunnels. The rest of the route can be described as ‘rolling terrain’ on quiet roads through the Chilterns and all the way to Rapha’s HQ in Archway, London.

Along the way, there are four feed stops best known for the provisions that await: so there’s the sausage rolls stop (Stop 2), fish and chips stop (Stop 3) and a soup/pizza stop (Stop 4).

This year was the 12^th edition of Manchester to London. The event has grown over the years from a small group of people riding between two Rapha stores to something much bigger. I learnt about the ride last year – like many – from GCN’s Dan Lloyd and then joined him for the first four hours of last year’s edition across the Peak District.

The event is run by an amazing team from Ambitious about Autism – the national charity standing with autistic children and young people. The charity is run with real passion by a group of people who are professional, enthusiastic and dedicated to making everything about the event a success. It all starts in the winter with an online registration, admission to a WhatsApp group and an online briefing event in the Spring by the founder of Rapha, Simon Mottram, who set up the M2L and has, to date, taken part in 11 of the 12 editions.

From what I have seen in the last two years, the event has a power to attract a type of person that is selfless, ready to give advice and help a fellow rider. Any question from someone new to the event is answered quickly by former participants. If someone is in need of advice, people are quick to jump in, whether it is a question about equipment, nutrition or someone forgetting their charger a day before the event. 

Every year the organisers aim to invite some ‘big hitters’ who, along with strong riders from Rapha, sprinkle a bit of added magic to the event. Former participants include Bradley Wiggins and Dan Lloyd, while this year’s celebrity guests included Juan Antonio Flecha, Ian Boswell and Romain Bardet.

The types of riders taking part range from people who’ve never ridden 100km by bicycle until about 5-6 months before the event all the way to Romain Bardet, who rode the Tour de France 12 months previous. Slowest riders start first (5am this year) so they have a better chance to arrive during daylight, and then groups of 10-15 riders set off every 10 minutes until at 6:40am a group of ex-road pros set off. Among the 200 riders at the start line this year were three father-and-daughter teams, and many participants, like myself, have a personal connection with the mission of Ambitious about Autism. 

M2L is not just a sportive, it is a ride of about 200 people who start, ride through the rain, the wind, over the Peaks, through the rolling Chilterns and on their journey they feel emotions that bring tears behind their large sunglasses. Whoever you are, over the 11 to 20 (or more) hours that people take to complete the route, you will have lows and you will feel the struggle that is intrinsic to living with autism. All of us setting off on Sunday morning followed the advice from Simon Mottram, to “Keep on keeping on”. We shared the sense of achievement, on arriving in Archway to cheers of friends and teams from Ambitious and Rapha, of not only completing a personal challenge but raising money for a great cause. 

Last year I set off in the second to last group (28kph avg). After a red light we were caught up by the fast boys, mainly formed by Rapha and other strong riders from around the world along with Dan Lloyd of GCN. I stayed with that group for four hours averaging 31.5kph over the Peak District, blowing up in the middle, and making a mess of my nutrition ‘strategy’. This resulted in my consuming 300g of carbs in an hour and visiting several establishments between Northampton and Husbands Bosworth, before reviving and finishing strongly with the third fastest group, overall averaging 29.1kph, with a moving time of 12hrs and 16min. 

This year I set out to improve my time, finish under 12hrs moving time and spend at least an hour with the group with Romain Bardet and Ian Boswell, which would be an experience of a lifetime. Luckily my group started at 6:20, twenty minutes ahead of Bardet’s group, and we got over the three largest hills in the Peak District at our own pace before being picked up by the fast group about 74km into the ride.

We rolled into the first feed stop together, where I had a coffee with Romain Bardet. I managed to hold on to the group and even have a chat with Ian Boswell, who is a familiar face from my Wahoo SYSTM training videos, though I did not do any pulls as holding 360-400w in their slipstream up any small kicker was definitely not my idea of Zone 2 ride. In total me and remnants of my group stayed with Romain’s group for about two hours before we settled into a new group. We worked well and even got to the second feed stop only minutes behind Gr. Bardet to join him and others for a Cornish pasty.

We held on for a few kms after the stop when a reality check made me team up with my fellow rider from the 6:20 group. I was starting to pay for my 400w efforts, and owe thanks to George who pulled most of the next 50km before we reached the Fish and Chips stop and formed my final group, a bunch of six with George, me, Josh, James, Alex and Nick. Together we completed the last 131km working together really well, and I managed to partially repay George for his support earlier.

We rolled into Rapha Archway together, and celebrated with pizza and a few drinks with a great sense of achievement. I completed the ride in 11hrs 50min with an average of 29.7kph and 1hr 20min stoppage time, nailed the nutrition and had a non-alcoholic beer with Romain and Ian to complete an unforgettable event.

I would like to thank the team at Ambitious about Autism, Rapha, all the volunteers at feed stops as well as my fellow riders for an amazing, memorable day on the road. 

If you wish to donate to Ambitious about Autism, you can do so here: ambitious220.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk