Saturday 3 May 2025
Ride Stats
Distance: 197.1km
Elevation: 3,361m
Feed Stations: 3
Sunday 4 May 2025
Ride Stats
Distance: 162.7km
Elevation: 2,584m
Feed Stations: 2
Monday 5 May 2025
Ride Stats
Distance: 163.1km
Elevation: 1,858m
Feed Stations: 3
This was going to be a 1 time only event but it was so great we decided we’d dip our toe in Hell again in 2025!
Strictly limited to 66 riders, it would be 666 riders but we can’t handle that many on such an intimate event!
Ride 3 of our toughest legacy events in this Bank Holiday Weekend Ultra Challenge Sportive!
Velo29 love to bring you a new challenge and A Weekend in Hell is exactly that! Inspired by Paris – Roubaix which is called ‘A Sunday in Hell’ this 3 day Sportive has got to be one of the toughest multi-stage events on the calendar.
We’ve reinvented 3 of our toughest Sportives from The Velo29 back catalogue. The start/ finish for each stage is Richmond School and Sixth Form College. It’s an awesome setting, easy to reach from the A1 and offers all we need to support this mega challenging weekend! Campervan/caravan places are available, FOC but he will need to email us at events@velo29.com and let us know your requirements.
Each stage has all the great Velo29 features you expect. Awesome feed stops, brilliant mechanical and medical support and the amazing Velo29 atmosphere. 1 change over our regular Sportives is that there won’t be any route signage (other than day 1), you’ll need to ride with a GPS device. If you can ride over 500km and climb over 9,000m in a weekend, we think you can navigate too!
2024 was awesome, you all made a great bond with each other and us in a wonderful collaberation to get you all over the line in this tough weekend. Staying on site with us really added to your experience, we had about 10 campervans at Richmond.
Sign up quick, you all declared it was tough but awesome. We’ll sellout in 2025 I’m sure!
The toughest medal to earn in the Sportive Series? ……. It could be!
The Monday before the sportive at 6pm, you will receive a ‘Get Ready’ email with all the information and links you need to complete the Pre-Event Questionnaire and Book a Time Slot.
Booking opens from 10am Tuesday until 18:00 Thursday. This is ESSENTIAL to ride.
Please collect rider packs from the HQ on your way to the start line.
No entries on the day.
Entries close on Sunday night 1 week before the event.
For any questions relating to Pre-Event Questionnaire or Time Slot Booking email depart@velo29.com
Get a FREE 2025 Series Jersey when you book 3 Sportives with us!
Rider Manual
Maps
GPX
Get your rider times, free certificates and event images here.
A Beginner’s Guide to Sportive Riding
What to Expect in a Velo29 Sportive
Stage 1 – The 5 Dales
(The Grand Boucle)
The 5 Dales was one of our toughest Sportives, not far off the Tour of The Peak. For 3 days in Hell there is no change to this bonkers event!
The Stang, Tan Hill, Tailbridge Hill, Fleet Moss, Kidstones, Buttertubs and Grinton! What an opener to 3 days of riding.
Struggle on day one and you’re in deep trouble for the rest of the weekend!
We’ve called day 1 The Grinde and you’ll find out why! 190 of the toughest KM in Yorkshire. An amazing start to the weekend.
N.B. Day 1 is also avialable as a single day Sportive with a Medium Route (4 Dales) option.
Stage 2 – The Pennines
(The Hell of The North)
Another tough 100mile + day! Some brand new roads for us as we head North West from Richmond towards the old Pennines HQ of Barnie. We’ve made a few changes to the old route to retain the best bits and throw in some tasty new ones! From Barnard Caste we ride North to Stanhope, we previously rode this section in the other direction in the TOP. This takes us up Bollihope, the 1st of 5 climbs which are over 500m high! We’ve then Crawleyside (475m), Rookhope(510m), Currick (581m), Allenheads (572m) and then the mighty Chapel Fell at 629m high, one of the highest paved roads in the UK! We’ve never ridden over Chapel Fell in a V29 Sportive before. The Captain says it’s a must, take it up with him!
We’ve named this stage ‘The Hell of The North’ as it’s the most Northerly part of the 3 day Tour. A tough day out on its own, a brutal day 2 in this mega tough weekend!
Stage 3 – The Buttertubs
(The Grinde)
The 3rd and final day, is intentionally the ‘easiest’ but by no stretch is this an easy ride!
The Buttertubs used to start from Darlington so we’ve made a few changes to centre it around Richmond. As it’s the 3rd and final day those changes take in some flatter, less challenging roads.
The run out from Richmond to is one of the best pieces of cycling roads in the UK! Well known from The Richmond GP, The TDF Grand Depart, The TDY and now, notably your new mega challenge, 3 Days in Hell!
Of course, the highlight of this ride is The Buttertubs, which we’ve already ridden over once however this time we tackle it from the North (heading South) down into Hawes. The Tubs is a very different climb depending upon which direction you enjoy it from.
It’s a lumpy ride in the first half, heading West towards Thwaite however once the Tubs are out of the way we enjoy a mostly downhill 80km to the flatter lands of Masham and Northallerton.
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