Things To Do In February

Ride an early-season event and the afterglow of satisfaction will be worth braving the winter for

- Simon Richardson

Early-season sporting time trials have always been a mainstay of the British scene. A decade or so ago it was possible for a winner to walk away from a quiet village hall with a cheque for £1,000 and the possibility of their image appearing on the cover of the following week’s Cycling Weekly, such were their status.

These events, often disrupted by ice or bad weather — but not always cancelled — were an important early-season race for anyone with a new bike, new team, new training programme or just looking for an early-season result.