A new sportive in the Swedish resort of Båstad has been announced as the latest addition to the Milestone Gran Fondo series. The first edition of the Båstad 208 will take place on 13 September 2020, as the Milestone series aims to expand the successful Mallorca 312 format across Europe.
Two courses, both run over roads closed to other traffic, will be on offer at Båstad 208. The longer, at 208km and 1885m of climbing looks set to be a real test, while a 142km option with 1166m of elevation gain is a more accessible but still challenging day in the saddle.
You can check out the course details and a fly-through of the long route with Relive here:
First announced earlier this year, the Milestone Series is run by the organisers of the Mallorca 312 sportive. The series will see new events take place in Germany, the UK and Scandinavia, with a view to exporting the Balearic island's hugely successful format outside of Spain.
This year saw the 10th edition of the Mallorca 312, with 8,000 cyclists taking part in what has become one of the biggest and most popular events in the sportive calendar. Each April, thousands of cyclists from across Europe flock to Mallorca to enjoy the closed roads and stunning scenery of this "cyclists' paradise" - and now, the event organisers are looking to return the favour by bringing similar sportives to countries across Europe.
"Båstad and the Bjäre peninsula are the perfect location to celebrate a cycling event such as ours, a one-day gran fondo where participants will ride through impressive landscapes within a unique circuit", commented Xisco Lliteras, General Director of the Mallorca 312.
"At Milestone Series we are happy to announce this new headquarters for the celebration of one of our European events. We have over 10 years' experience organising the Mallorca 312, one of Europe's most important cyclosportives, and we hope that Båstad will become a consolidated location, year after year, as the number of participants increases."
Annika Borgelin of Båstad Tourism & Business added: "Båstad is a benchmark in sports tourism, a meeting point for athletes, visitors and sponsors alike.
"Last April we visited the Mallorca 312 challenge (part of the Milestone Series) and were able to see firsthand the consolidated working model for the Milestone Series in cyclotourism. We're sure that the implementation of this model in Båstad and Hallandsåsen will be a success and are so proud and happy to have been chosen to host part of the European Milestone Series."
The first event in the new series was confirmed as the Eifel 205, with the first edition taking place on 22 August 2020.
Based in the German city of Bitburg, this one-day cycling endurance race will feature three routes of 205km, 166km and 102km.
So, with the German and Scandinavian editions now revealed, we're now only awaiting details of the series' new UK Gran Fondo.
Any guesses where it might take place? Wales seems a strong candidate, with a vacuum now created by the sad demise of Velothon.
But, with any number of potential locations across the UK offering fantastic cycling, we'll just have to wait and see.
Find out more:
Eifel 205: milestoneseries.cc/event/eifel-205-2020
Båstad 208: milestoneseries.cc/event/bastad-208-2020
0 Comments