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| Cycling in the UK
is
resurgent. With a
phenomenally
successful Olympic Team, strength and depth in the European Road Racing
scene –
Bradley Wiggins fourth overall in the 2009 Tour de France and Mark
Cavendish
winning 6 stages – the bicycle’s presence on our
roads is becoming a more
familiar sight than it has been for some years. And
speaking of “our roads”,
cycling is about to hit Cardigan with a
bang in the form of “criterium” racing. |
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| Criterium racing
is hugely
popular in towns across Europe; the format consists of a circuitous
route,
usually within a town’s confines, on which
cyclists’ race en masse. The
racing is
fast, spectacular and very spectator friendly. Spotting
Cardigan’s potential to host such
an event, the local cycling
club, Velo Teifi, have put together an event, the like of which has
never been
seen in Cardigan before – behold, “Cardigan
Street Racing”. |
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Imagine
the sight: 60 or more brightly coloured cyclists careering around the
streets
of our town at speeds that would normally cause Inspector Thomas to
‘have a
word’. 60
cyclists all trying to take
the Pendre/Feidrfair corner at speed. 60
cyclists jockeying for position before the technical right hand corner
at Finch
Square, before accelerating past TM Daniel and diving into the
left-hander in
front of Siop y Cardi. 60
cyclists jostling
for optimum positioning before Grosvenor Hill; a climb which, by the
way, the
sadists of Velo Teifi will have made narrower, forcing the imperative
to arrive
at the foot of the hill in a good position, lest you be left behind
before the
flat-out section along High Street. And
this nerve-jangling, lung-busting, adrenalin-fuelled spectacle will be
repeated
every two minutes or so until the race concludes with a final few laps
where,
quite frankly, very few prisoners will be taken as the 60 cyclists bid
for
glory. Did we
mention the event is to be
a National event, attracting the top amateur riders from Wales and the
UK? Did we mention
there would be prize
money? The
incentives are there; this
will be no tootle in the park...
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Now
these are, of course, public roads and in order to stage this exciting
event it
has been necessary to apply for formal road closures via Ceredigion
County Council. To this end, it is anticipated
that on the afternoon of Sunday 14th
August, the town centre will be
closed off (access around town via Quay Street/Bathhouse will be
maintained),
barriers put in place and the area made a pedestrian-only
zone.
Cafes and bars brace yourselves! Town traders in general, be
warned - there
will be an influx of visitors over and above normal August
numbers, an influx Velo Teifi hope to keep in-situ for the best part of
five
hours.
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| Town
Traders also be further warned – Velo Teifi are staging a
special
“Traders Race” to see just who is the fastest
business in the West. There
will also be an event to see which of
our Secondary Schools is the quickest. There’s
still time to don the lycra and
get a few miles of training
in... What are you waiting for? |
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As the plans evolve, we'll use these pages to keep you posted.
If you can help us stage this exciting event, please get in touch.
If you want to sponsor or support this event in any way, definitely get
in touch.
Yours in sport
The Velo Teifi Race Committee. |
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