Fantastic day of cycling at annual Broughton Castle Sportive
29/06/2026
The weather was kind as over 330 set off on their cycling challenge
Seasoned cyclists, elite riders and those looking for a fun day out on their bike all came together at Broughton Castle yesterday for the annual Broughton Castle Sportive.
A choice of five routes were on offer, with the first of those selecting the hilly 200km Cotswold Monster setting off shortly after 6am.
The Wellsbourne Wheelers are Sportive regulars and were looking to win the Presidents Cup for the seventh time. That’s awarded to the fastest team on the 100km route.
Gary Gristwood told us about their preparations. He said: “Just over a week ago we did the course because we wanted to check for any unknowns, unpleasant potholes. Last weekend would have been a hot one. We were praying that it would be cooler. We were praying up to yesterday basically, so our prayers were answered today.”
Lord Seye and Sele of Broughton Castle, Martin Fiennes, is himself a keen cyclist. As well as allowing the event to run from the castle he cycled the 40km Cotswold Tour. “It’s lovely,” he said. “It goes on one of my favourite routes – out through Shutford, up the hill at Epwell … there’s a fantastic straight, flat road that runs from Radway to Shipston-on-Stour.
“Then critically you arrive in Whichford and that’s where you have to go – man or mouse – because Whichford Hill is a killer! I’m 65 and I can still get up Whichford Hill without getting off my bike. That’s the measure of the man!”
The Sportive is organised by a hard-working team of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Banbury Cherwell. A number of the charities which benefit from the proceeds of the event also help on site and around the route.
With the riders returning to Broughton Castle, smiling as they crossed the finish line, Rotary Club President Philip Brody felt the day had gone well: “We’re really happy at this stage. We’ve had a fantastic day with over 330 riders going out and even more than that registered, so we’re delighted. The weather has been kind to us – we couldn’t really have asked for more.
“The next stage for us is to actually figure out whether we made a profit – which I’m sure we will have – and then the very happy task will be to divide that money up between the charities, mostly the charities that have come along and helped us today.”
At the finish line those completing the ride were presented with their medals by Banbury’s Town Mayor, Councillor Mark Cherry and Neil Talgeri, the District Governor for the Rotary Club in the Thames Valley.
Mr Talgeri was pleased to be witnessing the impact the Rotary Club of Banbury Cherwell was having locally. He said: “In the entire world we have 1.2 million members and we give away globally $3billion to good causes. This is the beginning with each club working hard.”
You can listen to a compilation from our day at the Broughton Castle Sportive here:
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
Reader's opinions
