Shropshire Star

Powys fans lap up Tour of Britain frenzy

The crowds whooped, team cars beeped their horns, emergency vehicles sounded their sirens and parties of schoolchildren cheered as loudly as they could as 100 cyclists set off from Newtown on stage three of the Tour of Britain.

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Cycling fans from across the region arrived in Mid Wales to see the world's top cyclists yesterday.

It was the fifth time the tour has visited Powys. The crowds were delighted to welcome back the event – and its big name entrants including defending champion Sir Bradley Wiggins and sprint king Mark Cavendish. Many people travelled across the border from Shropshire to watch the race, which ran for 119 miles from Newtown High Street to The Tumble, Abergavenny.

The Munslow family – Jonathan and Paula and children Eabha, two, and Fionn, seven months – from Much Wenlock took a trip out to watch the start of the stage at mum's insistence, as Paula is a big cycling fan.

"We wanted to come to enjoy the atmosphere, and make the most of having the tour so close," she said. "It's been great to see all the teams in action."

Long-time cycling fans Paul and Maxine Rogers travelled from Bishop's Castle to see the cycling celebrities.

Maxine, 36, said: "It's wonderful to see the marvellous athleticism of these guys, and the weather's fantastic.

"It's so nice to be able to be so close to the course and see what the bikes are like and the expressions on the cyclists' faces.

"You go to the Tour de France you can't get anywhere near this close. Here I could just reach out and touch them if I wanted to. It's very rare to be able to get so close at an international sporting event. It's fantastic."

Sian Davies, headteacher at Ysgol Dafyd Llwyd in Park Lane, Newtown, just off the course, decided to bring all the children out to watch the event.

"It's a great opportunity that an event like this is held right on our doorstep and that we can have the chance to come and support it," she said.

"The children were so excited when the bikes went past. Unfortunately we couldn't pick out Bradley Wiggins – they all looked very much the same at the speed they were going. We've all had a fantastic time though, they got some freebies from the organisers and it's been great to be part of the cycling frenzy."

Some local people joined the team of 1,500 volunteers to help with marshalling.

Among the volunteers was Shrewsbury Town Football Club sports therapist Wayne Peter, from Llantsantfraid, who got a job as a volunteer member of the Raleigh team where he put his professional skills to use.

Other people travelled much further to be able to see their sporting heroes. Mum and daughter Hannah and Seren Todd drove from Aberystwyth to catch a glimpse of their hero Mark Cavendish in action.

"It's awesome. I've seen Mark Cavendish. I'm a big fan," 13-year-old Seren said.

"It took about an hour and a bit to get here, but it's really worth it," Hannah said. "It's wonderful. My partner James started me with the Tour de France a few years ago and got me hooked on it. It's brilliant here. It's really nice to see them up close."

The stage started in Newtown's High Street at 11am, with teams parking in a nearby car park ahead of the race.

Starting from High Street, the cyclists completed a parade lap around the town centre before climbing out of town on the A483 to Dolfor and heading south.

For the cyclists – 20 teams of six riders – the park provided an space to relax and prepare before heading onto the roads for the hilliest stage of this year's event.

And the setup gave fans plenty of opportunity to get close to the sports stars – something that travelling fans appreciated.

Carwyn Jones and his children Tanwen, 15, and Garan, nine, had arrived in Newtown from Camarthen early enough to snag a place near the start line, ensuing they could see all the riders as they passed on their way to sign in.

"There's more opportunity to see the riders before the start here than most other places," he said. "It's very good. There's the park and all the team vehicles parked up over there, and the course right here. It's ideal for watching the race."

Tanwen set herself the challenge of taking photos of all the riders as they passed.

"It's a really good place to see everyone," she said. "I've only missed a couple of people."

Another spectator with a long drive was Jane Williams, 47, from Buckley, near Wrexham. After enjoying stage two of the race on Monday she decided to catch some more of the action yesterday.

She said: "I went to Llandudno on Monday and it was so exciting so I thought I'd come to Newtown as well."

Local businesses got into the spirit of the event, with cafes offering special menus and other shops putting on themed window displays.

The National Cycle Museum in Llandrindod Wells had loaned some of its exhibits to the Newtown shops to use as centrepieces for their displays, and children's artwork framed the vintage bicycles and tricycles.

Marie Jones, manager of the Wales Air Ambulance charity shop in High Street, said she was amazed at home many people the event had brought into the town.

"We've had people right outside and a lot of the staff joined them to enjoy the start," she said. "There were so many people there. The shop was quiet while all the action was going on, but now we're getting a lot of people coming in. It's very good for the town to have the event here."

Today the tour moves back into England for a 114.8mile (184.6km) stage from Worcester to Bristol.

The event will finish on Sunday with two stages in London.

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