Tour of the Reservoir
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| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Date | April (until 2016) July (2017) |
| Region | Northumberland, England |
| Discipline | Road |
| Competition | Premier Calendar. Nationa Road Series |
| Type | Stage race |
| Web site | www |
| History | |
| First edition | 1988 |
| Editions | 38 (as of 2020) |
| Most wins |  Dean Downing (GBR) (2 wins) |
| Most recent | James Shaw (GBR) |
The Tour of the Reservoir is a road bicycle race for Men and Women around Consett and Edmunbyers Derwent Reservoir, Northumberland in the north of England, part of the British Cycling National Road Series, formerly known as the Premier Calendar.[1]
The event was known throughout the North of England as an early season Hardman's race due to its first week of April date. The race was based on a 12.4 mile clockwise route around Derwent Reservoir owned by Northumbria Water who were for many years the events sponsor. The private road up to and across the Dam Wall at the East end of the grounds were used to host the start and finish. The weather conditions often affected the dynamics of the race and the wind that raced across the surface of the water chilled riders even on a mild day. Combined with the constantly rolling profile the race usually became attritional during the first of five laps.
Its sole organiser was Mike Hodgson until his death in March 2020 from Covid-19.
As the race became more notorious, riders travelled from as far as Scotland to the North and South Yorkshire attracting such famous names as Wayne Randle, Mark Lovatt and Chris Young. The race was self financing until the decision that Durham Police would no longer fund the rolling road closure the event needed. As a short part of the course involved 1/4 mile onto the busy A68, the only option was to somehow find the financial resources to pay for the required Police cover. In the many years since, Hodgson never revealed where the money came from, but the strong rumours were that something was always found 'down the back of the sofa'.
The 2019 event saw the race split in 2 locations with Stage 1 starting in Edmunbyers, the home village of Hodgson and finishing on the Dam Wall of Northumbria Waters Derwent Reservoir from which the event took its name. Stage 2 saw a new start and finish as Hodgson was asked to make the event part of the 2020 Consett Festival, a week long calendar of events to commemorate the 40th closure of the towns Steel Works, the major employer in the area for years. This also coincided with it being 25 years since Project Genesis, the regeneration body that was formed in its wake was instated.
The event saw independently verified figures from two sources concluding a benefit to the local economy of over £1,000,000 to the local economy and over 10,000 spectators present to see the finish of the Mens race at the end of the day and Hodgson was finally satisfied that he had finally achieved the level he had always longed for and looked forward to the following year. He was taken ill three days into the first Covid-19 Lockdown and, after 10 days in Hexham General Hospital, died due to its effects.
In 2025 it resurfaced with a new organisational team who had been working since 2021 to bring the event back. It will be a single day event with the aim of returning to a 2-day for Open and Women riders in 2026.
Winners
[edit]References
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