Tour de Gwent | |
---|---|
Date | March |
Location | Caerleon, Wales Abergavenny, Wales Wye Valley |
Event type | Road National Cycle Route 88 |
Distance | 6 route lengths: 93 miles (full length) 20 miles (shortest) 3 miles (kids) |
Primary sponsor | Whitehead |
Established | 2015 |
Organizer | St Davids Hospice Care |
Official site | Tour de Gwent |
The Tour de Gwent (Welsh : Taith o Went) is an annual 6-route cycling event which begins in Caerleon, and follows a route through Newport and Monmouthshire . The event takes place in April each year.
The event was established in 2015, organised by the charity St Davids Hospice Care. The title sponsor is Newport construction firm Whitehead.
The Tour de Gwent typically takes place around 14 April. The route options include distances of 93 miles, 78 miles, 52 miles, 30 miles, 20 miles, or 3 miles. [1] The event for 2019 is starting at and supported by Caerleon Comprehensive School.
The course is scenic, with routes of varying distance between 93 miles (full) and 3 miles (kids) to accommodate riders of various ability levels. The 93 mile route starts at the Roman fortress site of Isca Augusta, now Caerleon, which dates back to AD 74. It passes the UK's best preserved amphitheatre, the baths (thermae) at Caerleon Roman Baths Museum, and the National Roman Legion Museum.
The Tour heads from Caerleon towards Llandegfedd Reservoir, the town of Usk, Abergavenny, Monmouth, the Wye Valley including Tintern, into Llantrisant, and then returning to Caerleon for the finish line. The full 93 mile route starts at 7.30am and covers 7,352 ft of climbs, including the famous climb at Lydart. [2]
Local Newport brewery Tiny Rebel sponsor the event each year with a mobile bar and a free drink to all participants. Other businesses offer food and drinks at the finish village. [3] Local music acts perform at a bandstand.
Riders in recent editions have come from the wider region due to the cancellation of the Velothon Wales event after its 2018 season. [4] Larger cycling teams, including UCY Cycling Club of Ystrad Mynach, are competing in 2019. [5]
Caerleon is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Newport city centre, and 5.5 miles (9 km) southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hillfort. Close to the remains of Isca Augusta are the National Roman Legion Museum and the Roman Baths Museum. The town also has strong historical and literary associations: Geoffrey of Monmouth elevated the significance of Caerleon as a major centre of British history in his Historia Regum Britanniae, and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote Idylls of the King (1859–1885) while staying in Caerleon.
Cwmbran is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Newport is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 census, rising from 145,700 to 159,587, the largest growth of any unitary authority in Wales. Newport is the third-largest principal authority with city status in Wales, and sixth most populous overall. Newport became a unitary authority in 1996 and forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area, and the Cardiff Capital Region.
Monmouthshire is a county in the south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the south, and Torfaen, Newport and Blaenau Gwent to the west. The largest town is Abergavenny, and the administrative centre is Usk.
The University of Wales, Newport, was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city, which was subsequently closed during July 2016, and a £35 million campus on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre which opened in 2011. In 2012 the university was ranked 111th out of 120 UK universities in the Guardian League Table for university rankings, 105th out of 116 in The Complete University Guide and 104th out of 116 UK universities in the Times Good University Guide.
Celtic Manor Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the city of Newport, South East Wales. Owned by Sir Terry Matthews, the resort is located on the south-facing side of Christchurch Hill in eastern Newport, near Junction 24 of the M4 motorway. The golf courses run over the north-facing side of Christchurch Hill down into the Vale of Usk, overlooking the Wentwood escarpment. The resort's area is circa 2,000 acres (810 ha).
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term Gran Fondo is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and some other English-speaking countries.
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Malpas is an electoral district (ward) and coterminous community (parish) of the city of Newport, South Wales. The area is governed by the Newport City Council.
Caerleon Comprehensive School is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community Secondary School and Sixth Form in Caerleon, Newport, Wales.
The National Roman Legion Museum (Wales) is a museum in Caerleon, near Newport, south-east Wales. It is one of three Roman sites in Caerleon, along with the Baths museum and the open-air ruins of the amphitheatre and barracks. It is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales.
The Usk Valley Walk is a waymarked long distance footpath in south east Wales, from Caerleon to Brecon.
The Newport and District Football League is a football league covering the city of Newport and surrounding areas in South Wales. The headquarters are located at Newport Civic Centre.
Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths encompass the archaeological ruins and sites of the Legionary Fortress of Isca Augusta spread across the town of Caerleon, near the city of Newport, South Wales. Notable for being one of only three permanent legionary fortresses from Roman Britain, Caerleon has provided a unique opportunity to study the archaeology of a Roman Legionary fortress, less affected by the medieval and subsequent urban activity of most such fortresses. Having attracted the attention of eminent archaeologists throughout the 20th century it now has four major public archaeological venues, including the museum run by Cadw, called 'Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths', featuring the excavated fortress bath-house. Also open to the public is the most complete excavated amphitheatre in Britain, a series of barracks and the National Roman Legion Museum. The fortress and its surrounding civil settlement have been the subject of continuing major archaeological investigations into the 21st century.
Frederick James Hando MBE was a Welsh writer, artist and schoolteacher from Newport. He chronicled the history, character and folklore of Monmouthshire, which he also called Gwent, in a series of nearly 800 newspaper articles and several books published between the 1920s and 1960s.
Velothon Wales was a single-day road bicycle race held between 2015 and 2017 in Wales, United Kingdom. It was part of the UCI Europe Tour as a 1.1 race. It was part of the UCI Velothon Majors series of races organised by Lagardère Unlimited, which also includes Velothon Berlin, Velothon Stockholm and Velothon Vienna. These events are characterised by mass-participation sportives before an elite race along a lengthened route. No professional race was held as part of its 2018 edition, with the event folding after this edition.
National Cycle Route 88 is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from Newport to its planned finish site at Margam.
The AdmiralCity of Newport Half Marathon is an annual half marathon race held in the Welsh city of Newport, Wales, taking place in March. The event was established in 2013, organised by the charity St. Davids Hospice Care.
The ABP Newport Wales Marathon is a marathon race held in the Welsh city of Newport, Wales, taking place in May. The event was established in 2018, started by national race organisers Run4Wales.
The Caerleon Arts Festival is a yearly arts, literature and entertainment event in the town of Caerleon, near Newport, Wales. It is held in July, setting up over a week period, with a main weekend hosting the headline events. The 2019 festival concluded on 13 and 14 July.