Rapha x Maats Festive500

Maats Utrecht - 24-31 December 2023

500 kilometers. Eight days. 24th-31st Dec. The world's favorite festive cycling challenge is back. This year we've got your covered and will host the Festive500 from our Maats store in Utrecht. We are the place in the Utrecht region where you can shop Rapha products, and that is why we would like to serve as a clubhouse for those people who want to challenge themselves and defy the Festive500. On this page you can read all about it.

The concept

500 kilometres. Eight days. 24th-31st December. The world’s favorite festive cycling challenge is back. With the days turning darker and colder, it may be hard to keep your mileage on point this month. Don't worry, we have a solution for you! Join the Festive500, a challenge to complete 500 km between 24-31 December.

The History

Lifelong cyclist and lead designer at Rapha for many years, Graeme Raeburn created the Festive500 in 2011. His goal was to experience the life of a professional cyclist but has since watched it become many things to many people. “It is not a mile-chasing thing but rather a journey. It’s about getting out there, enjoying being on your bike and riding with or visiting other people.” His original ethos endures today. Read more about the birth of Festive500 here.

The Brand

From the moment we decided to open a store in Utrecht, we decided that we would also like to sell Rapha there. Rapha has a wide range of cycling products and we've cherrypicked the products we like from the brand.

The Festive500 Collection

The period between Christmas and New Year's Eve is perhaps the most challenging period of the year in terms of weather conditions. The days are short and often wet and cold. Good equipment is vital to brave the long and challenging rides of the Festive500. Maats is happy to help you with the perfect gear for the Festive500! Espescially for this event we've created the Festive500 collection: a collection of mainly Rapha products to help you embrace the challenging weather conditions. 

The Festive500 Collection

The Festive Routes

Espacially for this years Festive500, we have put our Maats Utrecht CRO (Chief Route Officer) Ruud Groeliken to work. He has created no fewer than 14 routes, all of (almost) 100 km in all directions. We've created a Festive500 Komoot Collection where you can find and download all these routes.

The challenge of the Festive500 is to ride 500 km between Christmas Eve (24 December) and New Year's Eve (31 December). You can do this by choosing 5 of the 14 routes and cycling them between Christmas and New Year's Eve. More than enough options!

The Rides

Besides the fact that you can do the ride yourself, it is much more fun and perhaps also easier to do this together with other riders. That is why we facilitate three group rides of 100 km during the Rapha x Maats Festive500.

Rapha x Maats Festive500 Group Rides

• Festive500 group rides on Sun 24, Wed 27 and Sat 30 December
• Start and finish at Maats Utrecht, Twijnstraat 7
• Gathering at 09:30, departure at 10:00
• Average speed: 28 km/h
• Coffee before the start and soup on return

The Clubhouse

For the Utrecht region, we would like to meet our store in the Twijnstraat, which is the clubhouse for the Festive500 of 2023. In the clubhouse you can start and end your ride and share stories with other Maats x Rapha Festive500 participants. We will do everything we can to make it as comfortable as possible during this challenging period.

From dark memories of hunger knock to the elation of completing the challenge, Gary Dumbill’s animated film is an honest tale of hard-earned miles that saw him scoop second prize in last year’s Spirit of the #Festive500 Awards. A great inspiration if you also plan to participate in this year's Festive500 challenge!

Maats and Rapha wish you the best of luck between 24-31 December, and hope to see you at one of our organized rides!