Dates have been announced for the Velothon Wales 2017 sportive and we’ve crunched the numbers on what to expect. Whether you go for the full 140km route or newly-created 110km route, the good news is that everyone will enjoy closed roads throughout.
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The full 140km route will be unchanged for 2017: riders will leave Cardiff to the east, heading through Newport and Usk, before entering the Breacon Beacons National Park, home of the first and legendary ‘Tumble’ climb. Riders then head south via Pontypool and Newbridge on the way to Caerphilly for one final 10% climb up the stunning Caerphilly mountain, before finishing with a fast descent towards the finish line.
The shorter 110km event will follow the same course as the 140km route, but will avoid the testing climb of the Tumble to encourage all cyclists of all fitness levels to be part of the event.
Both events take place on Sunday 9 July, and here are the 2017 Velothon Wales routes.
Velothon Wales: the stats
16,000
… is the number of riders expected to take part in Velothon Wales. More than 100 times the number who took part in this year’s Tour de France, and slightly less than the population of Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley.
1,822m
… is the vertical elevation involved in riding the full 140km route. Of this total, the infamous climb of the Tumble accounts for 399m elevation over the course of 5.1km, with an average gradient of about 10%.
940m
… is the vertical elevation involved in riding the shorter 11km route, which skips the Tumble but still sends riders up Caerphilly mountain, before finishing with a fast descent towards the finish line.
Over 50%
… is the proportion of entries for this year’s event coming from the UK.
7am
… is the time when the first riders will roll off the line at Velothon Wales 2017, with riders being allocated start pens according to their anticipated finish time.
Two
… is the number of times that Velothon Wales has been held so far, including 2016.
One
… was the 2016 finishing position of Tom Stewart (Madison Genesis), who finished the pro race (194km) in 4:20:29.
Further details are available at velothon-wales.co.uk and online entries are available now, on a first come, first served basis.
