UCI Confirms Tour Of Ayrshire as the Latest Addition to the Gran Fondo World Series in the UK
The UCI has announced that the newly accredited Tour of Ayrshire will take its place in the Gran Fondo World Series roster for 2017 alongside fellow UK-based event the Tour of Cambridgeshire
The Tour of Ayrshire is organised by the same successful team that delivered the Tour of Cambridgeshire, an event that has been part of the World Series since 2015.
The 12-mile time trial on Saturday and 85-mile Gran Fondo on Sunday will take place on fully closed roads with interval starts in the hilly region south of Kilmarnock on 29-30th Aprilo 2017.
The Tour of Ayrshire is set up by the same organizers that already submitted two very successful events with the Tour of Cambridgeshire that was part of the series since 2015. The time trial on Saturday and Granfondo on Sunday are on fully closed roads with interval starts in the beautiful hilly region south of Kilmarnock.
Kilmarnock
The town of Kilmarnock is the host town of the Marmotte Écosse. The town has a population of 46,000. East Ayrshire Council is located in Kilmarnock and is committed to the cause of attracting events into the area as a source of civic pride, economic benefit and to raise the profile of the area and Kilmarnock itself.
Kilmarnock boasts several beautiful civic parks amongst them Kay Park, home to the Robbie Burns memorial. Kay Park is the location of the start of the Marmotte Écosse Chrono and the amenities in and around the memorial are excellent.
Cycling in East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is a real hidden gem from a cycling point of view in Scotland let alone the UK. Despite its easy access from the main conurbations of Glasgow and Edinburgh it remains quiet and tranquil. The terrain is rolling which means that the Marmotte Écosse Gran Fondo can find around 1500m of climbing, much of it in excess of 12% in its 80 miles. One of the attractions of Marmotte Écosse to the local authorities is to open up the eyes of Scotland and the world to the natural beauty of the area as a cycling and tourist destination or just a great place to live.
Kilmarnock is the home town of Graeme Obree the former track world pursuit champion and hour record holder. Graeme is known for his innovations and appreciates the concept of Chrono + Gran Fondo as innovative formats of cycling which fit with his out of the box thinking and this applies to the area of East Ayrshire too. The recent film made about Graeme’s attempt to break the world human powered land speed record called Battle Mountain shows off the local scenery exceptionally well.