KE Adventure Travel, the specialist walking and cycling tour operator based in the Lake District, has acquired leisure cycling brands Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays from Manchester-based international running and cycling tour operator, Sports Tours International.

The addition of these two established brands and their websites*, will greatly enhance KE's current cycle offering, with their focus on easier European cycling routes.

Ashley Toft, CEO at KE Adventure Travel, said, “We are delighted to welcome Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays to KE and to the wider Voyageurs du Monde group. They are two brands with a loyal customer base and a strong online presence, and we look forward to developing both brands, and accelerating our growth in this buoyant leisure cycling market.”

KE Adventure Travel has purchased both brands from Sports Tours International – the market leader in the mass-participation events sector. Thousands of runners and cyclists travel with Sports Tours to the six Abbott World Marathon Majors and iconic events like the Tour de France every year. The sale of Freewheel and Wheel2Wheel comes as Sports Tours seeks to consolidate its portfolio amid unprecedented growth in the running sector and a record year in 2023/24.

Sports Tours International CEO Tim Przbysz: “We are thrilled that Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel have found a new home with KE Adventure Travel, where we are confident the brands will be managed to realise their potential and will allow us to concentrate on our core product offering''.

Additionally, KE have come to an agreement with Active on Holiday BV, a Dutch leisure cycling and walking tour operator (and also a part of the Voyageurs du Monde group), to sell their product offering in the UK and wider English-speaking markets, utilising the Active on Holiday brand. Steven Rittey, who has been establishing and launching Active on Holiday in the UK over the last year, and who was formerly the Product Manager for Freewheel Holidays and Wheel2Wheel Holidays at Sports Tours International, has joined KE to manage and develop all three brands.

-END-

KE Adventure Travel was established in 1984. It offers over 360 different active adventures, including walking, trekking, climbing, cycling and family adventures in nearly 100 countries. Whilst a majority of its trips are Small Group Guided adventures, Self-Guided walking and cycling was introduced in 2018 and is growing fast, with 75 different trips now available. Its new website and brand were both launched in Dec 2023. www.keadventure.com

Freewheel Holidays www.freewheelholidays.co.uk offers 180 cycling holidays on a self-guided basis with partners throughout Europe, and has been part of Sports Tours International, based in Greater Manchester since 2015. 

Wheel2Wheel Holidays was established in 2012. *Since the acquisition, the website has been taken offline, pending a strategic review.

For Further information or images please contact: Tav Lane at tav@keadventure.com , Steven Rittey at s.rittey@activeonholiday.com  or Natasha Haggart at natasha@sportstoursinternational.co.uk