Festive 500

Rapha's Christmas kilometre challenge has become part of the cycling establishment in just 12 years

- Rapha’s Christmas kilometre challenge has become  part of the cycling establishment in just 12 years

For all the Christmas survival guides on getting through the festive period without feeling as stuffed as a turkey, in truth you don't need to look beyond the Rapha Festive 500.

Since it began in 2010, largely as an internal challenge at Rapha, the Festive 500 has been a popular calorie-burner through this eating-to-excess period. The premise is simple: ride 500km in the eight days between 24 and 31 December and upload your rides to the ride-tracking app Strava. Aside from a story to tell on your social media accounts, for your efforts you're awarded the Strava Festive 500 badge and go into the hat for the prize draw. In 2021, Lee Sangmin from South Korea won the biggie, a brand new Cannondale Synapse, while daily prizes are on offer for those with the best stories to tell. For a challenge that began life in Rapha's southeast England home, it's now a global cycling phenomenon, with riders from over 100 countries completing the requisite 500 last time out.

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