Women's tour cycling coming to Powys
The toughest stage of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour is being hosted in Powys later this year.
24 hours after the race’s first hill-top finish in Warwickshire, the world’s best women riders will tackle an arduous stage between Llandrindod Wells - home of the National Cycle Collection – and the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells on day five of the 2019 edition.
Supported by the Welsh Government, the 87-mile route through Powys – the first time the county has welcomed the Women’s Tour - features the Skoda Queen of the Mountains climbs of Gorddwr Bank and Pennau along its unrelenting course.
The total elevation gain of 2,206 metres makes stage five of this year’s race the hardest in the event’s history.
Mick Bennett, OVO Energy Women’s Tour race director, said: “Powys offers that incredible mix of amazing countryside and challenging terrain, so we’re delighted to be working with the Welsh Government, Powys County Council and Welsh Cycling to bring Britain’s leading women’s race to the county for the first time.
“We have listened to the riders when they say they want the race to be even harder, and I know that they will feel this stage in their legs afterwards! Don’t be fooled by the run-in to the finish at the Royal Welsh Showground – this is by far the toughest stage of the race we’ve ever held.”
Loop
Stage five will start outside Llandrindod Wells’ famous man-make lake, before taking in an anti-clockwise loop of Powys that heads as far north as Dolfor and as south as Upper Chapel before turning back towards the finish.
The peloton will also pass through Rhayader, which features on the route of the Wales360, Britain’s newest off-road epic, which takes place for the first time in July 2019.
The Royal Welsh Showground has previously hosted a stage of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain, as Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenewegen triumphed there in 2016.
British Cycling CEO Julie Harrington said: “Powys’s burgeoning list of ‘must-sees’ will be added to this summer as it welcomes a world-class cycling event in the OVO Energy Women’s Tour for the first time in its history.
“A race that goes from strength to strength each year and leaves the world’s best riders, fans lining the roadside and those watching from home with unforgettable memories from start to finish, we hope the event provides the inspiration for more women to get in the saddle in Powys and beyond – and help us realise our ambition to get one million more women on bikes by 2020.”
