Q: What is the race's view on flying/driving to the event?
A: Where possible, riders should cycle or use public transport to get to the event, if this is not possible/practical then riders should consider offsetting the carbon emissions for their journey(As per our Eco-Mitments). Parking is not provided at the start/finish. The start is located closely to Warwick and Leamington Spa Train Stations.

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Q. When you describe the Solstice Sprint as a competitive ultra distance cycling race, what does that mean? And do I have to "race" it?

A. In short, it can mean whatever you want it to mean, success looks different to different people, we will leave it up to the individual to decide if they are racing themselves or if they are racing others, or neither. So long as riders are riding in a safe, legal and sensible manner, within their ability, being courteous and considerate to other road users, we are happy.

Whether it is called a "race", "reliability event", "sportive", "time trial" or otherwise, we believe riders will ride an event how they want to ride it, regardless of the name. Ultimately, this is an amateur event, for fun, there are no prizes, your name is listed on a website for a while, so in light of this, we trust riders to ride appropriately.

Q: Is there a bag drop?
A: Yes, participants will be able to leave a backpack/rucksack with the team at registration, we will hold a "bond" of £10 which is returned upon collection. If you scratch we can arrange shipping back to you using your £10 "bond" to cover the packaging and shipping costs - any remaining monies will be donated to charity.

Q: How much is the entry fee?
A: £140 for solo riders, £200 for pairs/tandems

Q: Can I ride a tandem bicycle?
A: Yes, tandems are welcome and we have a specific category for them.

Q: What is included in the entry fee?
A: To name a few: Pre-race/registration dinner, tracker hire, showers/changing facilities, access to the 2024 Strava club, cycling cap, finishers photo (and access to all photos taken) and a finishers map. An incredible amount of time also goes into planning the route, conducting reconnaissance, monitoring the route for planned maintenance and all of the admin to pull these sorts of things together.

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Q: What is the refund policy?

A: It is never an ideal situation to have to pull out, where possible we will issue as much of a refund as possible, however to manage expectations, the below should be followed, this is in line with our procurement activities and time invested, it also reflects how likely it is that we will be able to fill your space. We will consider transfer of placement to another rider if they satisfy our criteria(fit enough to complete/have enough to train/agree to the T&Cs etc). If you enter after any of the below dates, please be mindful the below still applies.

 

Before   01/01/2024 = 75% refund
After     01/01/2024 = 50% refund
After     01/02/2024 =0% refund

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Q: Is there a deposit for the trackers?

A: Yes, we will collect a £20 "bond" at registration, place it in an envelope and will hand it back when you finish/post your tracker back. Last year we collected all of the trackers back with no problems, if trackers are lost/damaged, the rider will need to cover the difference to replace it.

Q: Do I need insurance?
A: Yes, riders must provide proof of 3rd party insurance before being permitted to ride. Please bring this on the day to show at check in. There will also be a waiver confirming that you understand the risks of the event.

Q: Why has the time changed to 1000h?
A: We have moved registration to the Wednesday evening where will be putting on a pre-race dinner(lasagna's, salads, pastas etc), this is to reduce stress before the start and also provide riders the chance to socialise and make new friends - if you can't make the Wednesday evening, don't worry we can still squeeze you in on the Thursday AM. Starting at 1000h gives riders the chance to have a good night sleep before the start and also allows them to make a good dent into the route before it gets dark.

Q: Is there an end time?
A: Yes and no. The end point may not be staffed after 1900h on Sunday 23rd June, however if you submit all of your data you will still have an acknowledged finish, you will also need to post your tracker back to us. We would not want anyone to pull out just because they may miss an arbitrary deadline, we would much prefer people to finish their journeys so we can send them their finishers maps!

 

Q. Is there feed stations or accommodation provided?

A. In short...no, riders are to be self sufficient.

 

Q: Are the parcours gravel?
A:  No, this route is 99.9% on tarmac, the other 0.1% is a wooden bridge

 

Q. What is your position on gender categories?

A. Everyone is welcome to ride the Solstice Sprint, we believe that life is short, so people should be their true selves and enjoy their time on this planet. 

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Gender categorisation in sport is a sensitive subject and we do not claim to be experts(far from it), although we are an amateur event we want to preserve fair competition, therefore all riders will be ranked in an overall classification, we will also operate 3 separate sub-classifications for Male, Female and Trans riders. We hope this does not discourage any riders from joining and we are always open to discuss all things related to the event if anyone has any questions or queries.

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Q: If I scratch and finish the route at a later time can I still have my finishers map?

A: Absolutely! You can either ride the whole route again OR pick up from where you left of, just send us some tracking data for us to verify(e.g. Strava, Garmin, etc)

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Q: Are you related to the Two Volcano Sprint?

A: Unfortunately not, but it is one of our favourite races, we enjoy the play on words using sprint and have thus decided to pay homage to this. It's a really cool event and we recommend you check it out.

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Q. How did the race start?

A. Read our blog here: The Accidental Race

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