I just wanted to commend you on putting on such a good event on Sunday. It was very well organised and the feed stops were just next level. I wish I was there just to eat! The signage was excellent too. Lots of friendly faces and even the "clear right" shout offered up by the last marshall so we didn't have to unclip coming on to the main road was a small but welcome help at the end of a hard ride. I was also relieved to see a marshall near Hever castle blocking us from an icy patch. It will be hard to better this ride for the experience enjoyed.
Just a quick email to praise the organisation and execution of the HOTA event, I was very impressed and will be back next year.
Thank you to you and all the organisers for a great day in the sunshine yesterday…. It was well organised and marshalled, a cracking route with scenic views and sufficient bite in the profile to make it hurt a bit! The beer and frittes at the end were also extremely welcome! Looking forward to next year already. Cheers
A massive thank you to you and the team of HOTA. It was a fantastic day. The organisation was first class in all respects. It must have been huge amount of work. If you and the team have a 'mop up' review please do give them our thanks. My son Stephen beat me to the 'Lantern Rouge' trophy by one second. An honour in all cycling circles - well some of them. Thank you again
Just wanted to say thanks so much for a wonderful event yesterday. It was my first hellish experience and I loved it! Fantastic route. Great marshals and a great venue!
First of all, can I congratulate you on a really wonderful event, the course was spectacular, some of those winding "tracks" .. they could not be classified as roads!!! Were amazing, the combination of hills exhausting even to a seasoned 62 year old climber like me. I think you might have missed out a further 10 hills on the poster! I ride about 25 races each season with BMCR, late LVRC, crits, circuits and hill climbs, and this was my first ever "sportive" and I thank you for making it so demanding.
After reflecting on the whole morning, I realised what a fantastic hard time I had just had, and I would like to give you the beer I did not partake in at the finish! Anyway, thanks to all the marvellous marshalls and helpers and organisers, a real pleasure, and if this is to be my one and only sportive, I reckon I was lucky enough to ride the best. I ride for Black Cyclists Network by the way, and I will urge my club mates to enter (early) next year!!
I just wanted to say a big thanks for inviting me to ride the HOTA yesterday, the atmosphere, venue, route and organisation was amazing and a special thanks to all the volunteers manning the junctions etc, what a friendly and encouraging group they were.
Top marks for an awesome day, all your sweat, toil, attention to detail, dealing with daft questions, swapping entries, ample loos, music, razzmatazz, crossbar stickers, Brian Smith etc etc - top class sportive!
Great organization by Catford CC and a fab day out for the five Central London CTC riders who took part, thanks!
I just wanted to say thank you so much for the event yesterday. Blessed with great weather for it, and was superbly organised. So please pass on big thanks to your whole team as well for a really great day with great camaraderie from all taking part. I hope that everyone managed to make it around safely and I hope to be back next year.
Good job today guys, just wanted to say a big thank you to all the Marshall's for doing a sterling job!
Thanks to you and the other organisers for todays event; it was awesome. Great route, well organised, nice selection of stuff at the feed stations, great start/finish village.
I just wanted to write with my huge thanks for all your efforts to make the event yesterday such a success. I’ve never taken part in an event like it before, so it was all new to me. The signage, support and overall vibe of the event was fantastic. Please do pass on my thanks to the many people that made it all possible. Next time, I hope to make a better time – this year it was about surviving!
Thank you for an excellent event yesterday, and great weather! Excellent setup/parking/catering at the start/finish. Great directions out on the course as well, and I could see that the gravelly part of my local road was swept clear in the nearside verge. Brasted Hill was too steep for me at the end – so I will be back to try again in 2023. Though it will probably still be too steep for me then
Firstly congratulations on a phenomenally well organised and thoroughly enjoyable Sportive!!! Please pass my gratitude to the organising team and the marshals.
Thanks for letting me know and i would just like to say a few words about yesterdays event. I have done lots of sportives in the UK as well as abroad, and i must say with regard to the variety of food at the feed stations, you excelled yourself. I am not a vegetarian myself but it was nice to see a range of vegan friendly foods for those that are, and also the option of hot food at the second feed stop was very welcome. I also thought basing the start at the brewery was a great idea as lots of space for riders to relax after the ride and a pint of beer for finishing was a fantastic bonus after a hard morning in the saddle. A massive thank you to yourself as well as everyone else involved in organising and getting it to run so smoothly on the day. This is an event I can’t wait to enter again, well done all.
Congratulations for putting on a fantastic event yesterday. My first time in the Kent hills and it was awesome! We all had a great day out and everyone at La Squadra finished without problems. I think one of the guys had a puncture and that’s it ! It was a great route with some wonderful scenery. I was pleasantly surprised with a couple of the hills not being as bad as I expected but the Brasted climb at the end was a brute ! I rode with a guy called Campbell Thompson – strong guy who graciously waited for me a few times and Sam Ratcliffe from Ineos who was flying ! Two of the guys who work in the store rode from London and back – fair play. Well done, I hope there weren’t any major issues for you across then board, it all seemed to go extremely well. And the weather !!!!
I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday. My first cycling event and it was MEGA. You nailed the organisation, route (but Brasted was a total B*tch), food, markings, on route guides and a brewery finish felt totally appropriate, plus even the weather came out! I have had a tiny insight into organising much smaller events and anything of this scale is no mean feet! Thanks again and looking forward to doing it again next year.
Just to say congrats on a super event yesterday. Everyone was buzzing about how well organised it was, the start and finishes at the Brewery (great location/facility), the quality of the feed stations and road markings to name a few things. And you even organised the weather! Well done to you and team.
Just like to say absolutely cracking event. Well done and when can we register for next year!
Firstly thank you for the amazing weather! What a day. I could have cycled all day, best days cycling this year… Secondly, a fabulous sportive - I’ve done this before and thought the organisation and support were sublime. Even when the volunteers ran out of coffee and milk at the first feed station they were so happy and supportive - i don’t think anyone minded. Chapeau to putting on an amazing event - the atmosphere was great and what I really loved was how supportive and chatty other riders were. Please take time to bask in the glory of a fabulous day, sip some of those beers and eat all the leftover energy gels and I look forward to doing it again. Hoping you can replicate your negotiation with the weather gods again!!
I wanted to thank you and your team for organising today’s HOTA. What a great event. Of course we were lucky with the weather but both I and my companions - all of whom have done HOTA in the past - thought it was really well organised, the feed stations were great and the new venue was excellent. So thank you and all the many others whose efforts made it such a great day for the riders.
I had a fantastic day, thanks. I hope all the other riders had similar and you had a successful event. Brasted Hill then straight back down Hogtrough after 95k was pure sadism!
Good to see you briefly this morning. I am sure you will be inundated with messages - well I should hope you are - what a fantastic event you organised! Can't even imagine what it takes to organise such an event but it showed. The set up at the start/finish was great, the route was superbly marked, the people out on course marshalled the junctions brilliantly and the feed stations were unlike anything I have seen. So much choice. And you nailed the weather! Thanks so much to you and your army of helpers. Was cursing you up Brasted but that was my only criticism! Huge congratulations and thanks again. What a fabulous day.
Just wanted to say thank you for today, it has to be one of the best sportives I’ve ever taken part in - chapeau!
Just to say the ride was really great so apologies for my grumpy message before I just hate not being able to park haha. Great venue, great beer, great route and friendly volunteers, I’ll tell all my friends