Kentish Killer 2026 – “When the going gets tough”

Colder and wetter than Hell of the Ashdown last week – the event was really very much a battle of survival in tough conditions as it was a “get a good time” day.

Testament to this was 451 riders started the day and signed up to the long route – but of those about 240 completed the long route, others had to withdraw due to mechanicals or likely opted to take the shorter route.

📣 Shout-outs to Tim for doing some great pulls at the front for the first third of the ride, before having to pull out due to multiple puncture problems – also for accompanying me in the rain to cycle from Streatham to the start.

📣 Shout-outs to Simon for finishing despite a huge gash in his tyre – see photo.

📣 Shout-outs to Giles and Helga for teamworking the whole ride together.

📣 Shout-outs to Haydar for the stylish glasses and very long feedstop.

🔇 No shout-out to Andrew Monin, who ran off when I asked for a lift (I jest – he gave a solid ride and needed a quick getaway).

As always, it was a great but challenging event.

I’ve put together a leaderboard based on the Strava positions for the day (the official results had many short-routers) but these numbers don’t really do justice to the challenges that everyone overcame! 💪✊

There were 223 people finishing the Long Route on Strava and the fastest rider of the day looks to be Steve De Boos with a blisteringly fast official time of 3:38:02 🚀

See you again next year!