- Deal is the first of many investments in the growing cycling market, including the launch of the Goodwood Cycling Club.
- Three-day cycling festival culminating in the iconic 100-mile classic ride to take place at Goodwood in 2022.
- Eroica Britannia’s future as a leading experiential cycling event is secured.
Goodwood, the estate in West Sussex famous for horse racing and motorsport, has bought iconic vintage cycling event and lifestyle brand Eroica Britannia.
It marks the Estate’s first investment in the popular cycling market and is one of several new business opportunities being explored by the estate as it emerges from the pandemic crisis, including the launch of the Goodwood Cycling Club.
Eroica Britannia is a three-day, family-friendly, experiential event that attracts 25,000 festival-goers over the weekend and up to 5,000 cyclists from all over the world. It will move from its current location in the Peak District to Goodwood in 2022 and culminate with a three-route classic tour of the South Downs on pre-1987 bikes.
Moving to Goodwood cements a new and permanent home for Eroica Britannia. Whilst the event has become an enormous success in the Peak District, it needed to secure a venue that would enable it to keep pace with the growing number of visitors yearning to tap into the stories and legends of cycling’s heroic age.
Although details of the 30-mile, 60-mile and 100-mile routes have yet to be confirmed, they will start and end at Goodwood and take in the beautiful South Downs landscape. This area of West Sussex is renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, stunning rolling hills, breath-taking coastline and charming market towns.
As with all Eroica events worldwide, the ride will be a test of endurance and a celebration of cycling’s glorious past, complete with fastidiously assembled retro bicycles and matching period-correct kits. Lycra is frowned upon.
Pit-stops are indulgent affairs that showcase local produce, with many riders taking the time to enjoy the views and refuel with gusto before tackling the next stage of the route.
Fans will be able to enjoy a taste of the event at Goodwood Revival in September 2021, which will include displays of vintage bikes and a ride around the historic motor circuit before the official launch of the Eroica Britannia at Goodwood next year.
The Duke of Richmond, owner of Goodwood, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Eroica Britannia to Goodwood and to be adding cycling as yet another sporting pursuit you can enjoy on the Estate. A sense of passion and derring-do fuels everything we do: we’re looking forward to sprinkling a bit of Goodwood magic on an event that is already hugely successful. The stories of heroism from cycling’s glorious past will come alive as we create a festival that will delight cycling fans from around the world.”
Eroica Britannia’s founder Tim Hubbard, who will remain as creative director and consultant for five years, commented: “We’re delighted that Eroica Britannia is coming to Goodwood. While the ride adventure and festival was a huge success, we could not settle on a venue that allowed the event to flourish. We leave Derbyshire with great memories and are excited about the next chapter. The Goodwood team are kindred spirits and provide the perfect venue for an event that has captured the imagination of cyclists and festival-goers from all over the world. ”
Eroica’s president Nicola Rosin commented: “Ever since we first launched Eroica in Italy, we wanted to create so much more than an event. It’s a lifestyle. Goodwood has shown that it can inject a sense of passion and heritage in all of its events and we’re delighted that Eroica Britannia will become a part of the Goodwood family.”
The launch of Goodwood Cycling Club
Goodwood has long fostered an ambition to launch a premium cycling club. Its ‘right to play’ is based on a cycling heritage that dates back to 1982, when Goodwood hosted The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships.
Under the spirit of ‘Cycling done better’, the Goodwood Cycling Club will be inclusive, family-friendly, sociable, and welcome cyclists of all disciplines to the Goodwood community. More details about the club will be announced shortly.
Goodwood opened its famous Motor Circuit for cycling in 2020, dubbed the ‘year of the bike’* as the Covid 19 pandemic forced people to exercise outdoors. Over 5,000 enthusiasts of all abilities, from families through to time triallers from all over the country, enjoyed cycling sessions around the circuit last year.
About Eroica Britannia - https://eroicabritannia.co.uk/
Eroica Britannia is a vintage bike festival spawned from the original Eroica event in Tuscany, which first took place in 1997 as a tribute to Italian cycling champion and anti-Nazi resistance operative Gino Bartali.
Founded by Giancarlo Brocci, the event sought to recreate as closely as possible the conditions in which Bartali raced, from the historically accurate bicycles and kit to the unpaved roads. Brocci encouraged riders to ‘discover the beauty of fatigue and the thrill of the conquest’ - a theme that thrives to this day and brings an infectious sense of adventure and a desire to push boundaries. Today it has become a worldwide phenomenon, with events in Japan, South Africa, the US, Spain and the UK.
Tim Hubbard and a group of cycling friends launched the British outpost of Eroica in 2014. The first two events took place at Bakewell in the heart of the Peak District. It then moved to nearby Friden Grange for two years before returning to Bakewell in 2019.
Eroica Britannia is the largest in the Eroica family and was the first to add a family-friendly festival to the event, offering cycling enthusiasts the chance to enjoy a weekend of heritage, style, the best local produce, music and entertainment with the joy of cycling leading the way.
About Goodwood - https://www.goodwood.com/
Goodwood is a unique sporting estate set in 12,000 acres of beautiful West Sussex countryside. Owned by the Dukes of Richmond since 1697, it is renowned for its thrilling motorsport events and spectacular horse racing.
These two sports are a fundamental part of the estate’s history and heritage, but there is more to Goodwood than horses and cars. The estate includes an organic farm, four restaurants, two 18-hole golf courses, a private members club, an aerodrome, a health club, a hotel and a 10-bedroom luxury retreat.
*According to research group Mintel, 2020 saw an estimated 22% increase in total bicycle volume sales, reaching 3.3 million units. The bicycle market value increased at double this rate by an estimated 44%, reaching almost £1.2 billion. A surge in demand and supply chain constraints pushed up average prices and made bicycles one of the most sought-after consumer items of 2020.
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