The Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross is an annual cyclo-cross event over the

Yorkshire three peaks The mountains of Whernside (), Ingleborough () and Pen-y-ghent () are collectively known as the Three Peaks. The peaks, which form part of the Pennine range, encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales National ...

Ingleborough Ingleborough () is the second-highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks (the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent), and is frequently climbed as part of the Three Peaks walk. A large part o ...

Whernside Whernside is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales in Northern England. It is the highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. It is the highest point in the ceremonial county of North YorkshireMickle Fel ...

and

Pen-y-ghent Pen-y-ghent or Penyghent is a fell in the Yorkshire Dales, England. It is the lowest of Yorkshire's Three Peaks at ; the other two being Ingleborough and Whernside. It lies east of Horton in Ribblesdale. It has a number of interesting geologic ...

, in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is organised by Bradford Racing Cycling Club on the last weekend of September.

Overview

The original course was 40 kilometres long, but was increased to 47 km in 1980. More course changes in 1982 and 1983 increased it further, to 50 km and then 57 km respectively. The most recent alteration, in 1994, extended the course to 61 km. The current course starts at

Helwith Bridge Helwith is a hamlet and farm in North Yorkshire, England about 6 miles north-west of Richmond. It lies in the valley of Marske Beck, a tributary of the River Swale, in an area historically important for lead mining. It is part of the civil par ...

, 3 km south of

Horton in Ribblesdale Horton in Ribblesdale is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Ribblesdale on the Settle–Carlisle Railway to the west of Pen-y-ghent. Its population in the 2001 census ...

, and tackles Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent. Because part of the race is on private land, cycling the whole course at any other time of year is not possible. Except during the 1980s and early 1990s when

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s were permitted, only

cyclo-cross bicycle A cyclo-cross bike or cyclo-cross bicycle (abbreviated CX Bike or CXB) is a bicycle specifically designed for the rigors of a cyclo-cross race. Cyclo-cross bicycles roughly resemble the racing bicycles used in road racing. The major differen ...

s wit
drop handlebars
are allowed. There were no female competitors until 1979, and there were no races in 2001 or 2007 due to

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

."Jebb tumbles but still prevails in Cyclo-Cross series"
''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', 24 September 2007"Three Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race cancelled"
''

Westmoreland Gazette ''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering "South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned by ...

'', 28 September 2007

Awards

Total Prize Money: £5,000+ Riders are awarded certificates based on their time around the course. * Elite - under 3

hour An hour (symbol: h; also abbreviated hr) is a unit of time conventionally reckoned as of a day and scientifically reckoned between 3,599 and 3,601 seconds, depending on the speed of Earth's rotation. There are 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 ho ...

s 30

minute The minute is a unit of time usually equal to (the first sexagesimal fraction) of an hour, or 60 seconds. In the UTC time standard, a minute on rare occasions has 61 seconds, a consequence of leap seconds (there is a provision to insert a nega ...

s * 1st class - under 4 hours * 2nd class - under 5 hours * merit - all other finishers

List of overall winners

''(source
"Results and Roll of Honour"
3 Peaks Cyclo-cross official website)''

References

External links

Three Peaks official website

Three Peaks Cyclocross Blog
{{coord, 54.1509, -2.2987, display=title Cyclo-cross races Cycle races in England Recurring sporting events established in 1961 Yorkshire Three Peaks 1961 establishments in England Cycling in Yorkshire