Tour of the Dragon MTB Race, Bhutan, Himalayas, 3 September
The landlocked and mountainous Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan is best know to active travellers as an breath-takingly beautiful trekking destination of monasteries, fortresses and 7,000m high mountains. Which is probably why Tour of the Dragon is getting a reputation for the toughest one-day mountain bike race in the world. Starting at 2am in central Bhutan's Bumthang, the route will take you - if you're fit enough - 268km, over four mountain passes to western Bhutan's Thimphu. Starting at an altitude of 2,700m and finishing at 3,340m, with a total altitude gain of 3,790m through its challenging but incredible route, this event is guaranteed to help you not just see Bhutan's breath-taking scenery but feel it. Intensely! There is also a less challenging 60km route.
Cost: £175 ($250), includes finisher's medal and certificate, T-shirt, awards celebration at the finish, feed stops, medical and mechanical support on course
Skye Mor and Beag road sportives, Scotland, 27 August
The incredible island of Skye in Scotland's Inner Hebrides is a bucket list destination in its own right, and this event is a fabulous way to explore some of its dramatic edge-of-the-world mountain scenery. Both 78km and 151km route options start and finish in the east coast town of Portree, before exploring the norh of the island. You'll pass the 160ft basalt pillar of the Old Man of Storr, ride around the wild and beautiful Trotternish Peninsula before returning on the west coast with the crashing Atlantic Ocean on your right, and the towering Cullin mountains ahead.
Cost: From £42, includes four on-route feed stations, hot food and drink at the finish, event chip timing
Dulux Trade London Revolution sportive ride, South-East, 14-15 May
With 2,000 road cyclists taking on a 185-mile loop of our nation's capital, London Revolution is quite simply the largest multi-day sportive in the UK. Linking up the glorious North and South Downs, and cutting right through the city of London, with the riders crossing the Thames at Tower Bridge. Taking place over two days in mid May, hundreds will spend a night enjoying the atmosphere, hot showers, and hot food at the half-way camp. The event provides regular puts stops along the route, chaperones and medical support, and prides itself on its inclusiveness and community feel, promising to cater for ever level of rider - from those taking on their first cycling challenge to teams of leg-shaving club cyclists.
Cost: £184 for full two-day route including overnight camp, dinner and breakfast. Day ride routes and charity entry options also available
Anjou Velo Vintage retro cycling festival, La Loire, France, 18-19 June
With retro bikes and gear, dressing up, novelty facial hair, camping, French chateaux, 2,000 riders, and partying like it's 1868 - or even 1987, which is as modern as your bike is allowed to look, there are so many reasons why the Anjou Velo Vintage is a must. There are some cracking rides too, with something for everyone, from a 30km spin along the Loire valley, to the authentically challenging 130km Authentic 1868 ride where you'll have to coax your heavy, steel, undergeared but beautiful bike along gravel roads through the gorgeous Saumur region.
Cost: From £22 for the Authentic 1868 ride, including feed stops and lunch back at the village
TransRockies Events' Golden 24 MTB weekend, BC, Canada, June 18-19
This June the usually quiet Canadian mountain town of Golden, in British Columbia will swell with cross country mountain bikers and their supporters for the inaugural 24-hour Golden 24.
Pronounced 'Golden Two Four', the new event will see 500 lucky riders (only 500 have been allowed to take part in this first year) try to ride as many of the 14km laps as possible through some of BC's best managed woodland trails within a 24 hour period. With about 500m of vertical ascent in each lap, including some technical blue trails, the racing will go on all night long. Riders will race in relay style as teams of two to 10 - plus of course a Solo category for the borderline insane or insomniacs! With camping included and a busy event village promised, there will be a festival feel all weekend with plenty of other events and displays to keep supporters and resting riders entertained.
Cost: From £134 for a Solo entry in 2017's event, when registration opens in December 2016.
Alpine Challenge, Annecy, France, 1-5 June
Billing itself as the provider of 'professional events for amateurs' Hotchillee has set up the Alpine Challenge to give you the nearest thing possible to riding like a pro. Over five days, with three days of spectacular riding, you'll be based in a glamorous hotel by the waters of Lake Annecy in France's Haute Savoie. A timed Prologue will split the 200 or so riders into several groups of differing ability before you ride three mountain stages including famous climbs such as the Col de Colombière, Col de Leschaux, Cos des Saisies and the Col de la Forclaz. Leaders jerseys, as well as age and team prizes are awarded throughout. With motorbike outriders, lead vehicles and rolling road closures leading you through this stunning Alpine landscape, this is as close to riding like a pro as you're ever likely get without an actual team contract.
Cost: From £1,550 for a twin studio sharing with another rider, includes all on-road and off-road support, airport transfers, all food and accommodation
RBC Granfondo Whistler road ride, BC, Canada, 10 September
With its start in the spectacular capital of British Columbia, Vancouver, and its finish in the world-famous mountain resort of Whistler, it's no surprise that the Granfondo Whistler has grown into one of Canada's biggest mass-participation cycling events. As all routes end at Whistler, this is not an event to enter if you don't like cycling up hills but there are several distance options, from the beginner-friendly 55km Medio route which has 700m of vertical ascent, to the main 122km Granfondo route, with its 1700m of climbing. Challenge junkies can take on the Forte option, which adds 30km and almost 800m of ascent with a detour to the top of Cypress on the way. There's even a race category for those who can't help trying to be first. But for everyone else, although everyone gets a time, for this one day of the year the roads are closed, so that they and the other 8,000 or so riders can enjoy the incredible views at their leisure.
Cost: From £116 for the Granfondo, includes timing chip, free feed stops, mechanical and medical support, post ride meal and entertainment in Whistler
Mountain Mayhem 24hr MTB endurance event, Cotswolds, 18-19 June
Now in its 19th year, and run by husband and wife Patrick and Jill since its conception, Mayhem is practically part of the endurance mountain biking event furniture. This will be the third year running that the event and its field of 1700 riders has enjoyed the otherwise off-limits woods of Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire. There's a real festival atmosphere throughout the weekend, with the course running through the campsite, where thousands of supporters relax and watch the steady stream of riders' lights trailing through the woods all night long, while marshmellows are toasted and beers sipped. The riding is challenging but fun, with steep climbs and descents, and some wonderful singletrack on the eight-mile course.
Cost: From £80 for a solo entry, including camping from Friday through to Monday morning, shower blocks and timing
Cape Epic mountain bike stage race, South Africa, 19-26 March, 2017
This multi-day mountain bike enduro in South Africa's Cape Province is so popular that of the 30,000 mountain bikers who applied to enter this year's eight-day, 740km race, only 1,200 were lucky enough to have their numbers drawn by last May's lottery to compete. Those selected can look forward to the ride of a lifetime, as they pedal almost 2,000m a day in pairs through the Cape's incredible, wild scenery, buzzed by camera helicopters, dodging wild fires, flash floods and the occasional rampaging antelope. At the front of the field are the pros and specialists who have been invited to race at the sharp end of the field, while the bulk of the riders are in it for the incredible experience of (hopefully) surviving eight days of truly epic trail riding.
Cost: £1,915 pp, includes tented accommodation, food, baggage transfers, race support and services, event memorabilia
Tweedlove Bike Festival, Scottish Borders, 14-30 May
Not to be confused with any cycling festival where the riders wear tweed plus fours and ride retro bikes, the Tweedlove festival gets its name from the river and valley where it bases itself in the Scottish borders. With rides, enduros, free mountain bike rides, bike orienteering, skills training, kids rides and cyclocross races, there is riding over this two-week bike festival for every age, standard and type of rider. You'll also get a chance to see the best enduro riders in the world competing up and down the valley in the Enduro World Series, and party with them in the official LoveClub afterparty.
Cost: The festival is free, with many free rides but most main events have an entry fee. E.g Skinny Tweed Sportive is £19. Solo entry to the Glentress 7 is £45 and includes timing
Granfondo Stelvio Santini, Eastern Alps, Italy, 5 June
With the road closed to wannabe Jeremy Clarksons for the event, this Granfondo is one of the toughest but most rewarding day rides on the planet, and the chance to pit yourself against the legendary Stelvio Pass climb. 48 hairpin bends - not to mention plenty of other 'bends' which don't quite qualify (Italian climbs have hairpins marked with signs that count them down... Slowly!), 1,560m in vertical gain and a finishing altitude of 2,758m. The event starts in the spectacular resort town of Bormio and all three routes: the 60km, the 137.9km, and the 151.3km finish on top of the pass. But if you're taking on the longest distance you'll be tackling that other incredible Giro d'Italia legend, the Mortirolo pass, with its 1,300m of gruelling elevation gain as well. Finish it all and you'll have something to tell the grandchildren but even if you don't and get swept up by the broom wagon you'll never forget cycling in this incredible landscape.
Cost: £40, includes five feed stops, medical and mechanical support on the route, and free download of event photos
