MELON TWISTED ENOUGH FOR A
The toughest challenge in the Tour de Manc® programme is the Mad Manc – It’s called that for a reason – as well as the challenge of 200km distance and a LOT of climbing, you’ve a time limit too. Too slow and you’ll be diverted onto one of the shorter routes.
The mad this year, should you want to embrace this 200km monster, sees a few changes and improvements with the route being simplified slightly by joining the Challenge and Classic Routes to Greenfield and being extended slightly further north.
£55.00 Early Bird
The route may be subject to change.
The 200km route
The three longer rides remain together until Greenfield. heading out on a flat, mainly downhill route, past Heaton Park, towards Salford and right through the iconic Salford Quays where you will pass Media City, Lowry Theatre, Imperial War Museum and Old Trafford.
Then, staying on the flat across South Manchester, you will enjoy sweeping swiftly through the leafy suburbs of Cheadle Hulme and Woodford to our first feed station in Poynton, courtesy of and with thanks to the good people of Poynton.
We then sweep up over to Marple Bridge before meeting our old friend, a closed road KoM/QoM section up the short, but very steep Werneth low climb, affording you a sensational view of Manchester and a panorama of the hills to the Northeast and North – enjoy that view!
Here our second feed station awaits courtesy of the wonderful Chef and Brewer Hare and Hounds Inn – who kindly let us use their facilities. On another day you’d stop here and enjoy a beer and their great food, but not today.
After a quick “light” refreshment stop, you’ll head through Tameside and several climbs toward Saddleworth, however at Greenfield the Mad diverges for that tricky little climb up Pots and Pans to the east of Uppermill before rejoining the other routes at Saddleworth Hotel. Here you can enjoy great food and coffee whilst taking in another great view.
On departing the Saddleworth Hotel grounds, you’ll come to a new 2027 section of the route, where we have the biggest loop away from the others as we take the roads out to Littleborough, Todmorden and Bacup. We’ve added in a beautiful section for the Mad riders that loops up round towards Burnley and back to Crown Point past the “Singing Ringing Tree” sculpture.
It’s then down to Marl Pitts feed station and on to Haslingden. Our last diversion after this takes us out to Edgeworth and Crowthorne before riding back with the Classic riders via Ramsbottom, Edenfield and Ashworth Valley.