• You must be 18 years or older on 6 July 2024 to enter.
• The course is long and a good level of fitness and endurance will be required.
• If you are in doubt as to your fitness then we recommend you have a medical check-up before registering.

If entering before the end of April you are able to pay a deposit of £1000, with the balance due 30 April 2024.

There are 3 entry options for the Pioneer

• Entry sharing with another rider (twin or double)
• Entry including a single room supplement for all 8 nights
• Entry including a non riding partner

• Airport transfers
• Welcome reception at Colombo airport
• 8 nights accommodation in 4* and 5* hotels (twin sharing)
• Breakfast at hotels
• 6 days of guided rides
• Lunch each day en route
• 6 evening meals included, 2 evenings at your leisure
• 2 days off bike at leisure (Sigiriya and Galle)
• GPX routes
• Trip to Sigiriya
• Elephant Safari

We have a group booking rate of £999 per economy flight (current RRP is £1237).  If you would like to book your flight as part of the group please email [email protected]

A Pioneer event is a brand-new addition to the Hotchillee calendar, and so requires some rider input to help refine it for future editions. In this instance, we’ve recced all the hotels and amenities and can sincerely vouch for their quality, but what we’d love is your opinion on some of the routes we’ve designed. Our riders and their partners can expect the full ‘Hotchillee Difference’, plus an added sense of adventure as we find the best gravel routes on the island together. The added bonus is that Pioneer events are offered to selected Hotchillee members at a discounted price.

We recommend a Gravel bike or a Mountain bike with off-road tyres at least 38mm wide and set up tubeless.

Electric off-road bikes are also welcome. However, considering the long days of riding, you’ll need to ensure you have adequate range, and that your battery is detachable for charging in your hotel room overnight.

If considering an e-bike please check with SriLankan Airlines what their rules are regarding travel and batteries.

This is a fully supported off-road event. To minimise environmental impact to the beautiful trails, we don’t mark the route. Instead we issue GPX files to riders, and have incredible Ride Captains to show you the way. And remember this is a Pioneer event, so for some days you’ll be creating the routes with us!

As the Pioneer is a small and special group we will be in the main riding together. The group will naturally split on occasions due to different speeds and abilities, however we have 3 Hotchillee ride captains with us, so you’ll never be on your own.

All the Hotchillee ride captains selected for this event have good basic mechanical skills. We will also have a local mechanic/guide following the group on a motorbike. However you do need to be prepared to be self sufficient on this trip and ensure you have the necessary equipment with you.

Yes there will be regular water stops on the routes each day and a lunch/feed stop. This will be mainly local street food. The support vans will be strategically located with supplies of water, fruit and bars.

We recommend you bring your own bike for this event. Hire bikes are not easy to source currently in Sri Lanka.

As well as enough cycling kit, we recommend that you bring the following as they are difficult to source locally.

• Any spares specific to your bike, like a derailleur hanger
• Tubes, inflators, pump, plugs, patches
• Allen keys, with chain breaker and spare link
• Hydration tablets

Evening meals take place at the hotels each evening with the exception of the evening in Elle and the first evening in Galle where dinner is at leisure.

If Hotchillee cancels the event for any reason not listed in the conditions of sale, your entry fee is fully refundable.

If the event is postponed due to COVID-19, your entry will automatically be transferred to the new date. If you can’t make the new dates, you’ll receive a credit to use against any other Hotchillee multi-day event. The credit expires on 1 July 2025. 

If for any reason you need to cancel your entry there are several options available: 

1. You are able to nominate a substitute rider for your entry (up to 60 days before the event start date).
2. You may defer your entry as a credit towards another Hotchillee event in the same or following calendar year (up to 12 weeks before the event start date).
3. You are entitled to the following refund on your entry:

• 17 Weeks + before the Event start date: 66% refund of the full entry fee paid including any extra services and upgrades
• 13-16 weeks before the Event start date: 33% refund of the full entry fee paid including any extra services and upgrades
• 0-12 weeks before the Event start date: 0% refund of the full entry fee paid including any extra services and upgrades

Tinks once did 100 laps of Regent’s park in London. The proximity to London Zoo was such that he may or may not have passed an unknown quantity of elephants several times. He has added the “almost” caveat to his quote in order to ensure the kind of accuracy and fairness you would expect from a Hotchillee Ride Captain.