Storm Dennis, one of the Atlantic’s most powerful bomb cyclones on record, is churning up 100-foot waves, slamming the United Kingdom and canceling the season opening gran fondo, Hell of the Ashdown.

The premier event was scheduled for Sunday, 16 February, but the promoter cancelled it 12 hours before the start via Facebook as peak winds hit 87mph.

“It is with great regret that the Catford Cycling Club Ltd, the organisers of The Hell of the Ashdown, have reassessed the forecast weather conditions for Sunday and taken the decision not to run the event.

We have made every attempt to try to continue to run the event, and we apologise for the disappointment this will cause to many participants, but the safety of the riders, marshals and other road users must be paramount in any decisions we make.”

The promoter also indicated they are not rescheduling the event or issuing refunds per terms of registration.

The next event on the UK Gran Fondo Calendar is the Sunrise and Snowdrop Express taking place 29 February.

Storm Dennis is slamming into the United Kingdom just one week after deadly Storm Ciara hit with record high winds and drenching precipitation.

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