Time trials

Pushing yourself and your bike to the limit is what time trial, or TT, events are all about. If you've got a need for speed, these adrenaline-fuelled spectacles are the answer.

While there's no need to buy a new bike to enter a TT event, most entrants will be riding some specially adapted wheels, including TT bars that allow the rider to adopt a more streamlined position. So if you're the kind of person who enjoys the mechanical side of cycling and has more bikes than family members, time trials will be right up your street.

One of the major attractions of a TT race is that they are usually held on closed roads, allowing entrants to fully embrace riding at speed without worrying about traffic, including taking the most optimal line on a corner. Cyclists are set off with a short delay between each person - usually one minute - to allow each entrant to enjoy the freedom of the open road.

For competitive cyclists and novices alike, these rapid events are a rare opportunity to really put the hammer down and see what kind of pace you can achieve over a distance of between 10 and 25 miles. Explore the full range of events right here.