Richard Corkery

Oliver Cash

Christopher Shaw

Alison Holmes

Garry Spicer

Adrian Uttley

David Clarke

Helen Odia

Michael Beswick

Matthew Gonzalez-noda

Richard Fowler

Ian To

James Benson-King

Angus  Buchanan 

Wesley Burden

Charlie kennedy

Peter Belcher

Jack Horlick

Julian Mills

Colin Deady

Marco Fabiani

Holly Seear

Rachel Wheatstone

Jon Opie

Ian Grail

Denys Maksymets

Pat Herron

Jon Rowell

Alan Williams

Henry Howes

Helen Bridgman 

Steve Shrubsall

Neil Keirs

Matthew Cooke

Janet Burthem

Marcia

Hello, hello and welcome to the final post from the Spring edition of the Southern Divide,

As I'd said in my update last night, David was closing in on the finish and sure enough at 10:46pm he finished the route and with that brought this edition to a close. He had has a brilliant ride, mostly on his own at or towards the back of the field - it can be a lonely place but the support group that exists within the Southern Divide through the WhatsApp Group, to riders that have already finished and past edition riders going out to cheer them on makes the world of difference - especially for those that are perhaps dipping their toe into the ultra world for the first time. 

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-23-26-01](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1pbqV33o1dZ4aGE26RYt9w/e12702b48bc912fe93b1acba3336cd95/PHOTO-2025-05-12-23-26-01.jpg)

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Creating a welcoming, supportive space whilst setting routes that are challenging regardless of your experience and ability is at the core of what Marcia and indeed I set out to do with our respective events and it really does make a difference and provides a valuable stepping stone for some on to some of the bigger and badder events out there.

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-16-12-21](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4kHM2kz7ciRPJqlmgEtuW5/4957ecaaea9e2be696fdec16f62b02b2/PHOTO-2025-05-12-16-12-21.jpg)

Looking ahead, there is an Autumn edition of the Southern Divide too - just the Epic/88 hour pace for this one and that takes place between the 18th and 21st September. Entries for this one will open up on the 1st June so make sure you are following their social media channels to be fully informed on this.

And that is about it from me this time, there is obviously loads more of events either currently underway and in the coming weeks, including my Escapade that are all being covered on Dotwatcher so keep checking back to this website to follow all the action.

Thanks for following along with this one, I hope you have all enjoyed the event, our coverage and the as ever excellent tracking from Rob at Follow My Challenge. Until next time....

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-23-47-16](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/uDnXCrlszXPy2V9iyxund/c3f1fb95c9c1d91b29794bb3613ca770/PHOTO-2025-05-12-23-47-16.jpg)

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Done and dusted!

Welcome back to what's very nearly the end of the Spring edition of the Southern Divide.

It has been a pretty quiet day, at least until 3:00pm today! The final five riders have been making their way ever nearer to the finish in Rochester keeping their heads down and grinding out the final kilometers through Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.

At the time of writing this report, four of the five have finished with the final rider just 14km away.

First in today was Chris, right on the stroke of 3:00pm according to the Cathedral's bells. Met by his wife and a bottle of fizz - although what he really wanted was a beer so the pub it was for him! He described hi experience as 'emotional'. He mostly rode on his own but bumped into other riders here and there. He had a couple of interesting overnight stops in very differing B&B's. In one, there was no food officially available so he produced a battered packet of instant noodles and asked the owner if he could use the microwave.... Said owner was horrified that this would be his dinner and and swifly produced a proper dinner for him! Carrying a battered packet of lightweight noodles whilst looking half-starved may be a method we could all use on these events?!

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-16-51-45](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7H6kmNh4ztKOZSjOY1xCEO/e6be8e804909e6c09f2023d0d80b03b5/PHOTO-2025-05-12-16-51-45.jpg)

Further back Alison was underway early as she rolled out of Petersfield whilst Adrian and Gary had a more leisuely start from Guildford. But the two guys were leading this particular charge back towards Kent, not far ahead - 30 - 60 minutes at most but they were ahead. Until the lure of the Golden Arches 8km before the finish proved too much.... Adrian and Garry stopped, Alison did not. The overtake happened in a flash and with that Alison became the fourth finisher of the Challenge group with a time of 109 hours and 46 minutes - well under the 134 hours cut-off for the Challenge Riders - just brilliant and I absolutely love a last minute double overtake!

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-21-43-09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Ww9UaKPxWA6ZLrF9dwt0E/0aa25bf2cfc162faf3b3bfa31053c944/PHOTO-2025-05-12-21-43-09.jpg)

Then just 8 minutes later it was Adrian and Gary at the finish, suitably recharged from their McDonalds visit. It turns out that Gary had some brake issues early on and had to stop - which was the point he met Adrian and they have ridden together ever since.

![PHOTO-2025-05-12-21-43-10](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7nPSCIPfxV1pKmw4UmmOeP/f8c8ae61faef06ff7e30c35a60ade21a/PHOTO-2025-05-12-21-43-10.jpg)

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That leaves just David who after a couple of days of huge efforts is now just 6km out from the finish albeit with lights that are not fully up to the task tonight. A slow and steady roll in now is all he needs to do - at least the last of the off-road is done now. I will be back in the morning with news and pictures of him together with a wrap up of the last five days of the event.

Thanks again for following!

And then there was one, but not for very long...

Welcome back to the Southern Divide.

Since the last update we've had five finishers and four scratches so quite a bit to talk about tonight.

First up are the finishers, we have had all the remaining Epic Riders finish now, all within their 88 hours completion time and then we have also had the first two Challenge riders back in who were also within the Epic time cut-off.

At 1:30pm Denys arrived to be met by his family, who were super excited to see him. Just before 4:00pm it was Pat and then at 5:20pm it was Jon and Alan. Alan had taken a tumble on day 1 and nearly scratched, but a proper sleep in a bunk house that night left him refreshed and able to continue! Half an hour later it was Henry finishing off the Epic group - he enjoyed himself but isn't sure if he will make a habit of doing events like this - how many times have we heard this being said and then being backtracked on?!?!

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-14-00-29](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/79zok61rity6lkcwU0y9un/5ef6942ccf8dd46ef6fea5686f577801/PHOTO-2025-05-11-14-00-29.jpg)

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Just before 8:00pm it was the first Challenge rider Richard who was back with some unfinished business from last year in an amazing time under 86 hours followed just over an hour later by Oli.

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-21-45-15](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7nsFZM75ZRTLkTwB1SQD6V/2a4aedb0df7c76cc346579719143b139/PHOTO-2025-05-11-21-45-15.jpg)

On the scratches we had Steve Shrubsall finally call it a day - he'd had a crash a couple of days ago and has a really sore and swollen hand and has ridden from Bridport to Winchester with only one fully functional hand which is actually quite remarkable. Winchester was close to home for him and stopping there was probably pretty wise.

The others to call it a day today were Matt, Helen O and Michael who all decided they were not going to make it back in time and that riding still on Monday wasn't an option. a real shame as they were all going so well and could have undoubtedly made it back with a little more time.

And that leave just five riders out on the course. Some are tucked up in bed for the night and others are still moving. All should be able to get this done within the Challenge time cut off too which is great.

There won't be another update from me until we get some more finishers now - I have some 'grown-up' work to do in the morning too so this is perfect!!

Thanks again for following today and we will be back tomrrow afternoon, goodnight!


More from Day 4

Welcome back to day 4 with more stunning weather (riders may say it's a bit too warm today), more fast and dry trails and yet more finishers.

Overnight we had three more riders arrive in Rochester - Julian and Jack arriving a smidge before 3:10am and then at 3:50am we had Colin back too. Meanwhile Marcia was dodging the Saturday night drunkards in Rochester -it's a glamorous life as an organiser of the these crazy events! Naturally at that time of the day no one hung around and all three of these finishers swiftly moved to the Travelodge for some much needed sleep - hopefully they will reappear this morning and have a proper catch up with Marcia.

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-04-11-46](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4VirK7Sk7U4T9On5eiLg3G/fc221980739a5e03e06fbbb1d5534fd0/PHOTO-2025-05-11-04-11-46.jpg)

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Next in we had Marco at 11:15am rounding off the top ten!

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-41](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/71S3wGqsNz6OvvGb5jyBnL/b7a4c38c018327212379c0c1ea79fa4d/PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-41.jpg)

We have also had Holly and Rachel, our first two women finish this morning at 11:30am just shy of 78 hours which is a brilliant ride on that course. 

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-41](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/65FB4hOLfxcKfYNjfyt5jM/a67122109291ccee80e4b143e042096b/PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-41.jpg)

Then, literally in the last few minutes Ian and Jon have both finished too - what a busy morning at the finish today!

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-42](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3m2d9iJjw2NpKAh9GXw2cq/e84e5afafdbfc13fe9af1e37f93b54a4/PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-42.jpg)

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-42](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5lQ7kxnysM2ii6MMHaBcQZ/fc4a43cbb290b2ee73bb691604d40af5/PHOTO-2025-05-11-12-17-42.jpg)

There are still seven riders on the track between Farncombe and the finish so they are all on target to get in before the Epic cut off time, three Epic riders who are right on the cusp of the time cut and may have some challenges to make it - one is Steve Shrubsall who has had an injury after a little tumbe a day or so ago and has a very sore hand/wrist. The less technical riding now may help him but we will wait and see.

Then we have a scattering of Challenge riders spread broadly along the course -on David at the back is borderline for the Challenge time cut. This morning the main topic of conversation on the event WhatsApp Group and Social Media has been breakfast! As ever this is as much an eating competition as it is a cycling adventure!

![PHOTO-2025-05-11-08-38-09](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1tdhkSNWM8eHtHh87vlPw7/ec451fcb3d8b3941592df42a8b4c0163/PHOTO-2025-05-11-08-38-09.jpg)

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Another glorious day begins and plenty more finishers!

Apologies for no afternoon update, life chores, a bit of proper work and a small bike ride myself all got in the way!

On the Southern Divide, today has been a day of finishers and more traversing the Southern counties...

Since the last update we have had another four riders roll into Rochester. A little before 1:00pm the podium was completed when Angus arrived in third place after a great, solid ride.

![PHOTO-2025-05-10-17-39-18](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1bpt2KLTZyQDHKdn2YcidF/45a913f396c9fbd1905c9277d31bfdc6/PHOTO-2025-05-10-17-39-18.jpg)

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Four hours later it was Wesley at the finish in fourth place. Another great ride from the Kent local who is another rider that started his Ultra journey on the Escapade!

![PHOTO-2025-05-10-17-14-49](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3Pg0njkYNVV6oijBCzju3U/c3ed681463230cff770a0b9ef76c3e81/PHOTO-2025-05-10-17-14-49.jpg)

Then, not long ago at 9:40pm Charlie and Peter finished - Charlie being met by his girlfriend complete with a bottle of fizz some flowers and a great sign - see the picture below!!

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-10 at 22.07.16](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2RyNmaAOyRgYOHbPQSxv5W/d7b0f67d8ab6be1dbdefecabea101205/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-10_at_22.07.16.jpeg)

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There looks to be a few riders who will be finishing later tonight or in the small hours they are all on territory I am very familiar with and on the dry trails will be moving quickly- Somebody needs to get Marcia a bucket of Espresso I think!

There are a number of riders all between CP3 and CP4 still - all Challenge riders that have until Tuesday to complete. I looks like a lot of them are stopped for the night - including Adrian and Gary who have got themselves a cute twin room with space for bikes in Corfe Castle!

![PHOTO-2025-05-10-22-38-35](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5tXCuJbnJ5WqyujF6D8deJ/e0516e02d75580d3648d35128bea36b5/PHOTO-2025-05-10-22-38-35.jpg)

Just one more scratch today with Richard Fowler calling it a day at CP2.

That is it from me today, I will be back in the morning when we will have news on what might be the next five finishers.

Goodnight everyone, see you again tomorrow.


Day three  continues

Good morning to Day 3 of the Southern Divide. The sun is still shining, the trails are still dry and fast and we have our first and second placed riders in Rochester over the finish line!

Huge congratulations to Ian To who came in first at 6:09am setting a new FKT to finish in a total time of 47 hours and 39 minutes. A very efficient ride with a total stop time of 9 hours 32 minutes, most of which was spent at the enforced stop at CP3. It was a clinical and metronomic ride from start to finish. 

![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-10 at 07.47.21 (1)](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/omF3bsjPQY65HqBPJGfuZ/69a6e63c166de0102e156929c1e150c3/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-10_at_07.47.21__1_.jpeg)

Just under three hours (and also faster than the previous FKT) behind was James Benson-King coming in second. This was another excellent ride and at times he had really kept Ian in check. To think that James' first Ultra was my Escapade last June - during which he finished strongly despite some big challenges shows just how much he has developed in the past year and I am sure we will be seeing much more of him performing to a high level like this - it's like a proud Dad moment when you see riders that started on one of your events do stuff like this!

![PHOTO-2025-05-10-09-20-13](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6JdivSyZMpDZy8hDdQQnZx/5ebf159b3c3712b89c7cdb626ee83292/PHOTO-2025-05-10-09-20-13.jpg)

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Behind them, we had a change in third place during the night... Angus, who we thought was stopping in Winchester to get a bike repair done got going again and, when Wesley stopped for a few hours sleep he moved into third. Angus is about 30km out from the finish now and Wesley comfortably in fourth is 90km out and should be back mid to late afternoon.

Then it looks like organiser Marcia will be able to have a little sleep catch-up before the the next couple of riders should finish late tonight.

There are a lot of riders currently between CP3 and CP4 all moving along nicely and all looking in good shape for a Sunday finish, with a smaller group of the Challenge riders further back who are also moving well and in the right territory for their time cut-off.

We will be back later on today with more news but in the meantime remember to check the tracking and instagram throughout the day.

![PHOTO-2025-05-10-01-16-48](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Nsd34itCyGMyb0oGatauF/3b20446b1afc81ab2be75c551e2c8318/PHOTO-2025-05-10-01-16-48.jpg)

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We have some finishers!

Good evening from Kent - about 80km away from the finish where Marcia is about to have to head towards very soon! The life of an ultra organiser can sometimes be brutal and we often operate with far less sleep and rest than some of the riders! This is especially true for Marcia this time.

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This is just a quick update tonight ahead of a more complete update in the morning. As I write the leader Ian has passed through CP4, the final checkpoint having resupplied from the Kebab van in the middle of the square in Petersfield (thats a dream for a CP!) and is on his way towards the finish with just 140km to go. James is almost at the CP now too so it remains close with just an 8km gap. Ian had a big sleep earlier and should be good to go through to the finish, can James do the same and keep the pressure on? We will see in the next few hours...

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Further back, Wesley in third continues to push on, and with Angus looking like he has stopped in Winchester (still needing a bike repair in the morning) the podium might already be set - again we will wait and see and as we all know anything can happen!

Back at CP3 there are several riders settled for the night and a few more have pushed on from CP3 and are heading towards the edge of the New Forest. Not sure if the legend that is Tom Stockered will still be out dot watching in person but he certainly was earlier on and saw the leaders go through - as always thanks for your support Tom!

The rest of the riders are scattered all along the South Coast but most are all still in good shape- bearing in mind the extra completion time for the Challenge Riders.

One more scratch today unfortunately with Neil Keirs having to drop out late this afternoon. He had been struggling to keep any food in and had an awful sore throat - neither of which are ideal on one of these events. He has already vowed to return noext year.

While I have been writing this, James has now arrived at CP4 and was just about to hit the kebab van too before getting underway again.

And that brings you up to date for the main stuff tonight. I suspect when I wake up and start tomorrow mornings report we will have at least one finisher and maybe more! Thanks for following us today everyone. 

Friday night excitement!

A mid-afternoon update from Day 2 of the Southern Divide for you...

As we know, leader Ian had had a nice long stop at CP3 in Corfe Castle and had slept, refreshed, eaten well and re-set ready for another big push. Next into the checkpoint was James, just after 1:00pm. James was not so rested and has already put in a decent shift this morning. Anyway, they had a quick catch up and James who was having some strange cravings tucked into a curious mix of cheese strings, chocolate and a Dr Pepper - the glamour of ultra cycling captured in one snack!

![PHOTO-2025-05-09-15-00-50](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6XqxJBV8YOGxqcVKOzveNh/837b48e993f86285adbd8f9fb92b17d0/PHOTO-2025-05-09-15-00-50.jpg)

Soon enough they were both underway with Ian about a kilometer ahead as they blast through the New Forest on some of the nicest gravel in the UK! Wesley is a further 14km back and then Angus, in fourth place has not long left CP3 - he has a dodgy rear mech that he is nursing along and may need to stop in Winchester tomorrow morning for some repairs.

There is quite a big gap then to the next rider so there will not be anything more from CP3 for a few hours I think. The whole field is really spread out now but we have had no more riders scratch yet, although Richard may have a problem? Annoyingly for the three riders approaching Starcross, the last ferry of the day has sailed and they have the bonus 25km to to in a while. the four female riders continue to ride strongly and Holly and Rachel are really putting in a big effort as they approach the half distance mark!

![PHOTO-2025-05-09-15-07-56](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1vW4qf2qAocByCOtFt1NW4/994dd3e88bfd21feb77d556e808c6416/PHOTO-2025-05-09-15-07-56.jpg)

![PHOTO-2025-05-09-16-54-40](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4jc0v44kmpGOKnHQ1tMBVx/d66a5999bda9a01d47f785f7ebe2233e/PHOTO-2025-05-09-16-54-40.jpg)

![PHOTO-2025-05-09-16-54-40](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1HMnRcNdHfMYt2v1Qpbvv2/a3a738a8c079b8614ed11376aa82c222/PHOTO-2025-05-09-16-54-40.jpg)

That's all for now, I'll be back later with another update for you.


This is about to get interesting!

Good morning and welcome back to day 2!

In the main everything stayed as it was overnight with pretty much everyone stopping to get at least some sleep. The main exception being our leader Ian who rode through the night to reach CP3 a little before 7am this morning. One of the rules of the Southern Divide is that no rider shall leave CP3 before 2:30pm on the Friday so Ian had an enforced stop here for seven hours or so. We know he's had a shower, charged everything device wise and is having a sleep whilst waiting to go again. It will be interesting to see how this strategy plays out compared to the chasers who all had a stop last night and are very much underway and closing in on CP3 themselves. It looks like the first four will all be at CP3 together with another group not too far behind them. The final 300km to the finish could be full of excitement and strategy - it's going to make for some great dot watching me thinks!

Further back, the field remains fairly spread out but essentially the same spread as last night with the Epic riders leading the way and the Challenge riders being afforded those extra precious hours. At Starcross, the ferry is now operating for the day so riders are starting to use that now rather than the longer diversion route - something I am sure they are very happy about!

There remains very little in the way of issues, Gary Spicer had to stop and wait for the bike shop in Tavistock to open for a repair but is now underway again and unfortunately one of our women, Helen Bridgman has had to scratch this morning due to some leg pain that had become too much to continue. Safe travels home Helen and heal up fast.

That is it for now, will be back for around 2:30pm and see what is going on with the first group as departures from CP3 are allowed!
![PHOTO-2025-05-09-05-40-19](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1Wa3Ifev2eU92irHaZ28y8/a8fe76c6e09bfb261de927f830033aad/PHOTO-2025-05-09-05-40-19.jpg)![PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-13-55](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/VwZDDL4ZEa3JDghsc8MzM/3af09922034ff870b541e2dc5e1bd150/PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-13-55.jpg)![PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-17-59](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1chLuNX4o7p4SWrkyu4cZs/9e6f111b59733bcc94f68e15836dd03f/PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-17-59.jpg)![PHOTO-2025-05-09-09-20-34](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6LLOdnqMpKeMVBGCYedFu5/208e03ee499238aa47e58b4ad671deb8/PHOTO-2025-05-09-09-20-34.jpg)![PHOTO-2025-05-09-09-25-19](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4oaAbrPAavU8F4bEwDqesS/bfbb3be19a95746f2af9787280d67691/PHOTO-2025-05-09-09-25-19.jpg)![PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-10-25](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1maGYsfqxJSJjkgFk1N5N5/6417126b0946e21245fad4e8033dbe7b/PHOTO-2025-05-09-08-10-25.jpg)

Day two begins...

A quick update for night one for you...

As I write at 9:30pm, 21 of the 33 riders are still moving, making the most of the decent weather and dry trails still. There are a number of riders on the approach to Princetown though so we may see a few of them stop for the night soon enough.

At the front Ian To was probably never going to make the Starcross Ferry today but he gave it a damn good go! With the briefest of instagram story posts he was underway again and headed off on the 'missed ferry detour' via Exmouth - he's now back on the route and pushing on. Behind Ian, are James and Wesley who are also both on the detour too with Angus not very far from Starcross too.

Alison, Rachel, Holly, and the two Helens are still moving too and continuing to push on along the route.

It's going to be interesting to see where everyone is come the morning, who stops and sleeps properly and who pushes on through the night and what the map then looks like. I'll be up early tomorrow to check in on the dots and their social media and report back to you then.

Thanks for following the first day here!![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-08 at 19.38.07](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/758JqJ2sMCirstlTroPjzj/c01a18522f5a8b0ab31abe0a073a6951/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-08_at_19.38.07.jpeg)![WhatsApp Image 2025-05-08 at 20.47.02](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bQMvAszLatUP4kWsbiVoL/142c59e63e6087213c6f071db1ec45c0/WhatsApp_Image_2025-05-08_at_20.47.02.jpeg)

Into night one

Kevin Francis

Marcia Roberts

Spring Edition - Coast to coast, from Cornwall to Kent, this beautiful route includes sections of the Jurassic coast and the glorious gravel of the New Forest. The event is split into two time limits. Aimed at more experienced participants, deadlines for the 'Epic' are tight and will require night riding, whilst the 'Challenge' offers riders newer to Ultra bikepacking events two extra days to finish. 

The Southern Divide - Spring Edition 2025 Tracking and Commentary

Spring Edition - Coast to coast, from Cornwall to Kent, this beautiful route includes sections of the Jurassic coast and the glorious gravel of the New Forest. The event is split into two time limits. 

The Southern Divide - Spring Edition 2025

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The Southern Divide - Spring Edition 2025

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