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County welcomes elite cyclists for championship

Elen Davies
BBC News
Ceredigion County Council There are several cyclists on the road. To the right and left there is a grassy verge, the cyclists are on the right-hand side of the road.Ceredigion County Council
Ten national champion's jerseys are up for grabs across three days of racing

Businesses and locals believe welcoming some of the biggest names in British road racing to the Welsh coast will boost the area's economy and increase interest in cycling.

The Lloyds National Road Championships takes to the streets of Ceredigion over the next three days.

Ceredigion council hopes it will "inspire young riders who will be able to see their heroes in action".

The event starts with a time-trial at 09:00 BST on Thursday in Ffos-y-Ffin and will head to Ciliau Aeron and Llanerchaeron before finishing in Aberaeron.

The circuit race will be held on Friday, with the road race on Sunday.

Certain roads will be closed around Aberaeron, as well as in and around Aberystwyth for periods during the three days of racing.

Kurt Forward, owner of the Castle Hotel said the event was "fantastic for the area".

The 52-year-old added: "The weekend looks really good. I'm guessing there's going to be a lot of people in town."

Kerry Vamplew runs the Llys Aeron Guest House near Aberaeron, and was initially worried about the road closures due to the potential impact on guests, but said she had realised it was "quite a good thing that the finish line is literally outside the building".

She added: "We're going to make the most of it. We've got our flags out... got our Welsh flags out as well to support our Welsh competitors."

A man is stood in the stood in the sunshine looking at the camera. He has short black hair and a stubbly beard. He is wearing a white t-shirt and it is a head and shoulders shot of him. There are red doors behind him and tables.
Kurt Forward says there's a real buzz around the town

Among the Welsh riders registered to compete are Owain Doull, sisters Zoe Backstedt and Elynor Backstedt, Elinor Barker and Megan Barker.

However, two-time Olympic champion and 2018 Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is not competing.

A composite image of three men looking at the camera. They all have red and white cycling gear on with the words Caron across the front. The man on the left is an older gentleman with grey hair and blue eyes. The man in the middle smiles and is bald. The man on the right has a red cap on and looks at the camera.
Michael, Eric and Gareth say they will be taking tips from the elite cyclists

Members of Tregaron's cycling club will be among the fans, and race marshal Michael Fitch, 75, said: "The economy should benefit from it."

Eric Jones, 72, agreed it was "a great thing", adding: "I think any event whether it's football, rugby, cycling, anything, when it's local, it inspires people to try and do what their heroes are doing and I think it will have a great impact and increase the numbers of people cycling - which is already quite a number in this area."

Gareth Wyn Thomas, 51, believes the routes will "showcase a lot of the brilliant countryside we've got".

A composite image of two men looking at the camera. The one on the left is a younger man in a bike shop with a quiffy hairstyle and rounded thin-rimmed glasses. He smiles and has a black shirt on. The one on the right is a bald man smiling at the camera with a black t-shirt on. He too is in a cycling shop.
Rowan (left) and Stuart (right) both work at different bike shops in Aberystwyth

With spectators welcome to watch on any of the routes, businesses are anticipating a busy weekend, especially bike shops.

Rowan Hayward, 21, from Summit Cycles said: "It comes at a great time with the recent developments in cycling infrastructure, so we've had some new cycle paths going in.

"There's been a lot of interest around cycling in the area recently... I hope the use of the cycle paths go up and more people will be excited and interested about cycling in the area."

Stuart Hickman of Beiciau Afan Cycles added: "We've had visitors phone up the shop to see about hiring bikes for the weekend. They're coming from away, they can't get their bikes in the car so it's attracting people from all over."

Clive Davies, the council's cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said the championships will be an opportunity to showcase Ceredigion as a great place for cyclists and for tourism, as well as a significant boost for the area's economy.

"Ceredigion has a proud history of producing elite riders including Josh Tarling, Stevie Williams and Gruff Lewis and we hope that hosting this event will inspire young riders who will be able to see their heroes in action."