Tour de Gwent

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Tour de Gwent
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre.jpg
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre, near the Race start
DateMarch
Location Caerleon, Wales
Abergavenny, Wales
Wye Valley
Event typeRoad
National Cycle Route 88
Distance6 route lengths:
93 miles (full length)
20 miles (shortest)
3 miles (kids)
Primary sponsorWhitehead
Established2015
OrganizerSt 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.

Contents

The event was established in 2015, organised by the charity St Davids Hospice Care. The title sponsor is Newport construction firm Whitehead.

Background

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 Race

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerleon</span> Town and community in Newport, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwmbran</span> Human settlement in Wales

Cwmbran is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport, Wales</span> City and county borough in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monmouthshire</span> County in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wales, Newport</span> Former university in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celtic Manor Resort</span> Golf hotel and resort in Newport, Wales

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerleon Comprehensive School</span> Community school in Caerleon, Newport, Wales

Caerleon Comprehensive School is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community Secondary School and Sixth Form in Caerleon, Newport, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Roman Legion Museum</span> Archaeological museum in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths</span> Archaeological museum in Newport, Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Hando</span> Welsh writer, artist, teacher, and historian

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Marathon</span> Place

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerleon Arts Festival</span>

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References

  1. "Tour de Gwent". tourdegwent.org. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  2. "Platinum Route | Tour de Gwent". tourdegwent.org. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. "Tour de Gwent". tourdegwent.org. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  4. "Disappointed the Velothon Wales won't be happening next year? Sign up to the Tour de Gwent instead". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  5. "Cycling club riders show support for Whitehead Tour de Gwent". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 27 February 2019.