Fred Whitton Challenge, live.

Every Lakeland pass in one day from Grasmere

The Fred Whitton Challenge is a 112 mile sportive around the Lake District from Grasmere, widely regarded as the UK's toughest one-day ride.

The next edition is on Sunday 9 May 2027, starting and finishing at the Showfield on Stock Lane in Grasmere. The Lakes Road Club first rode the route in Fred Whitton's honour in 1999. After 15 years based in Coniston the event moved to Grasmere in 2014, and by 2016 it had passed one million pounds raised for charity.

The route is about 112 miles with around 3,500 m of climbing, and it takes in the Kirkstone, Honister, Newlands, Whinlatter, Hardknott, Wrynose and Blea Tarn passes. The 30 percent gradient of Hardknott comes at 94 miles, when legs are already tired. The fastest riders finish in just under six hours, while eleven hours and more is not unusual.

Riders may start at any time between 6am and 8am, and there are cut-offs at the Braithwaite checkpoint at 11:30 and at Calder Bridge at 14:30, so slower riders should start early. Timing uses a helmet tag, and every rider also carries a tracker from the organiser. Places are allocated by ballot, and a low-geared road bike is the organiser's advice for the steepest climbs.

Spectators gather at the Grasmere Showground, home of the Grasmere Games for over 150 years, where a live band plays through the afternoon as riders come home.

On Livebib you can follow a cyclist who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the organiser.