ARE YOU THINKING of taking a Bank Holiday weekend break this year? Thinking of doing something sporty while there?
Might we suggest a few ideas here for you to consider?
Maybe not, but we’re going to do it anyway…we hope you like baguettes, Belgian beer and haggis!
What: IRONMAN 70.3 Pays d’Aix
When: Sunday, 3 May
Where: Aix-en-Provence, South of France.
How much: Until 25th March - €240. From 26th March €275.
How will I get there? Fly to either Nice (2 hours from there by car) or Marseille (less than an hour) with either Ryanair or Aer Lingus.
Alternatively, fly to Paris and get a train to Avignon. It’s an hour south east of there.
Tell us more: This is a triathlon, in case you didn’t know already.
And it will attract some fairly serious operators too as it’s a qualifier for the World Championships in Austria later in the year.
But don’t let that put you off and instead, focus on the 1.9km swim that takes place in the waters of the artificial lake at Peyrolles-en-Provence, followed by the the 90km bike course through some of the most stunning scenery imaginable followed by the 21.1km run in and around forest roads and back to the finish in Aix-en-Provence.
The event can also be done as part of a team so why not round up a few mates? Each member has to complete one of the three disciplines.
It is a Bank Holiday weekend, after all…
What: Edinburgh half-marathon
When: Sunday, May 31st
Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
How much: €40
How will I get there? Fly to Edinburgh with either Ryanair or Aer Lingus.
Tell us more: Entries have already sold out for the marathon but there’s a fair ol’ effort in training for and completing a half marathon.
The route is flat and fast and it’s been described as the quickest in the UK so go set yourself a PB!
What: Tour of Flanders cyclo sportive
When: Saturday April 4th
Where: Oudenaarde, Belgium
How much: 83km – €45, 133km – €50, 245km – €55
How will I get there? Fly to Brussels with either Ryanair or Aer Lingus. From the main train station in Brussels get the hourly train (54 minutes) to Oudenaarde, or pick up a rental car. The journey west will be slightly longer than an hour.
Tell us more: The Tour of Flanders is one of the biggest races in the world. That is the professional race held the day after but the throng of people who’ll be in Europe’s cycling heartland on the Saturday for this one will blow you away.
They’ll be 10 deep on the steepest sections of the route – which is an absolute brute, by the way.
There’ll be the option of taking part in either the 259km, 133km or the 83km sportive and each follows the latter part of the professional race route, including all the famous climbs. And they are serious climbs….so save the beer until afterwards.
Originally published at 00.05