DARTMOOR’s tourism industry could receive a £500,000 boost from the 11th Dartmoor Classic Sportive cycle event, with registration opening this Saturday (November 5).

Organised by the Mid-Devon Cycling Club, the 11th Dartmoor Classic will take place on July 2, 2017.  Up to 4,000 places are available and such is the demand for the event that organisers expect all places will be snapped up in under 24 hours, repeating the success of the past three years.

Run solely by club members and volunteers, the Dartmoor Classic stands out among cycling sportives as a not-for-profit event that has helped raise over £150,000 for local causes, organisations and charities over the past ten years.  It also brings hundreds of thousands of pounds into the local tourism economy and spends thousands of pounds with local businesses to help promote and stage the sportive each year.

In 2015 alone almost £9,000 was donated to local organisations, including Dartmoor Search and Rescue, Dartmoor Parish Council, Manaton Parish Council and Dartmoor National Park Authority. 

In 2016 eight organisations have received valuable funding, including Princetown Primary School which has bought a new interactive whiteboard for the school.

This year’s event features three separate routes over 35, 65 and 105 miles, each over the rugged testing terrain of Dartmoor. The provisional routes pass through Tavistock, Peter Tavy, Mary Tavy, Horrabridge, Two Bridges and Princetown, also taking in the east and south of the moor.

Marshalled by over 120 volunteers to help minimise the impact of the event on local communities, The Dartmoor Classic regularly receives accolades for the professional nature of the event.  This year a further 50 volunteers will be helping out at the HQ and feed station, which will be held at Princetown Primary School.

Any surplus made from registration fees and sponsorships are shared between local charities and the club, which uses funds to offer coaching and development to young riders and to support aspiring young riders taking part in bigger stage races and national events.

The website www.dartmoorclassic. com opens for registration at 8am on Saturday, November 5.