Events/Struggle Dales

Struggle Dales

Road

Date

Sun, 30 May 2027

Venue

Harrogate, North Yorkshire (Dales loop)

Countdown

May

Distance

250km

Total climb

4,500m

Billed the hardest sportive in Yorkshire, and it earns the title. There's no single big col here. The route chains the Dales' steepest climbs one after another, from Harrogate out into the hills and back.

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The course

The route

From Harrogate out into a Yorkshire Dales loop and back, the route strings together steep signatures like Malham Cove and the sharp ascents out of Nidderdale, with very little flat to recover between them.

Weather

Late-May, Harrogate

17°CTypical high

8°CTypical low

3°CColdest in 20 years

40%Days with rain

Highs around 17°C and lows around 8°C, but it has dropped to 3°C. Rain on 40% of days.

NASA POWER data, 2006-2025, the week either side of race day

Training

Training for the Struggle Dales

We don't do generic plans. We combine deep knowledge of this race's demands with your recent training, then build a plan with you that progresses as you do.

Beina integrates directly with your existing tools to understand your current fitness, and synchronise your planned sessions.

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What the Dales throw at you

Typical sessions

Relentless steep climbing that never lets the legs settle

Cumulative fatigue from stacked ascents, which rewards early restraint over heroics

Very low gears required, sub-compact plus an 11-34 cassette for the steepest ramps

A long day out: 6 to 11 hours on the Classic, 10 to 16-plus on the Ultra

What your weeks look like

Typical sessions

2x20min sweet spot and steep threshold climb repeats to build sustained climbing power

Steep-ramp reps, 6 to 8 of 60 to 90 seconds on a 15 to 25 percent gradient, for the Yorkshire walls

Low-cadence torque intervals on a climb, building force for sustained steep pitches

A weekly long hilly ride building to 6 or 7 hours (Classic) or 8 to 10 (Ultra), with fuelling rehearsed

Not a generic schedule

Typical sessions

Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have

Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond

Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo

One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet

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7-day free trial, no card required.

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