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Builth Wells (Wales): 22nd May 2010

CycleOps Power Road Sportives (Saturday) followed by the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport (Sunday)

This year’s summer’s 1st CycleOps pOWER Road Sportive, will take place in Builth Wells. The event is located in a stunningly scenic area in the heart of Mid Wales and an ideal place for one of the most breathtaking and challenging road sportives in the 2010 series.

John Lloyd is once again putting two challenging sportive course together and makes use of his extensive local knowledge from countless hours in the saddle of his road bike. The area around his home town Builth Wells offers countless miles of quiet fast rolling roads mixed in with challenging climbs and breathtaking views.

Course details, maps, profiles

Download Course details, maps, profiles Short Course - PDF 600KB

Download Course details, maps, profiles Long Course - PDF 600KB

Course description
This year the Builth Wells sportive starts and finishes at Penmaenae Farm, neighbouring the Royal Welsh Showground. There will be two distances on offer, 53 miles (1750m ascent) and 88 miles (3300 m ascent), both routes travelling through the stunning rural countryside of Mid Wales.

Both routes start at Penmaenae, on the A470 and travel north along the Wye Valley to Newbridge on Wye, then going west along an undulating road to Beulah. Here the route turns right onto a scenic back road, after 4 miles the route passes Trallwm, a small bike visitor centre offering tea, coffee and homemade cakes!. Shortly after this the road leads to Abergwesyn where the two routes split at the 1st feed stop(19 miles), the 50 mile route bearing left to Llanwrtyd Wells, along the beautiful Irfon Valley then onto Cynhordy and back to Tirabed where it meets up with the longer route again.

At the split point the long route turns north, travelling through open moorland until reaching the Devils Staircase, which ascends 160m in 1 mile of road! The route goes on to descend steeply for the next 1½ miles only to climb back up for another 1½ miles to the highest point of the course (472m).
After this the route descends gently through open moorland for several miles into the picturesque Towy valley, passing alongside the Llyn Brianne reservoir onto the village of Rhandirmwyn and the 2nd feed stop (45miles). From here it is a fast run all the way to the town of Llandovery, where there is a selection of pubs and cafes to tempt you.

The route now turns east travelling about 8 miles along very gently climbing road to Llywel, where it turns north at the start of the last big climb of the day, four miles in length with 220m of ascent, up to the Epynt military range. Here the route descends all the way to Tirabed where the two routes meet up. Less than a mile sees the last feed stop, (70 miles and 35 miles). From here the route follows an undulating B road along the scenic Irfon Valley all the way back to Builth Wells and a well deserved cuppa.

The event village is situated a few hundred metres from the town offering lots of drinking and eating places - ideal for a quiet shandy before the big ride on Saturday or Sunday.

The event village/camp ground/start and finish location will be signposted from every direction from Friday afternoon onwards and will stay open for the campers till Monday morning. So if you want to make a long weekend of it – this is your chance.

Road Sportive Challenges
The Builth Wells road sportive will be run on the Saturday of the event weekend with an open start from early in the morning onwards. Following the huge trend of non-competitive road events the Road Sportive Challenges are trying to set themselves apart from the rest by offering a high quality event package with outstanding courses and first class support around the course plus all inclusive camping, parking, facilities, event meal and finisher present…pretty much the same deal the riders of the marathon series have been enjoying since the very beginning. 

Two courses to choose from:
The Builth Wells road sportive will have two courses on offer – an approx. 80-100mile and an approx.40-50mile loop. The Road Sportive Challenges are run very similarly to the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB marathons powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport by being one loop events with the start and finish being in the same location as the event village, registration and event camping.

Due to legal reasons the Sportives will be started in small waves of riders at set intervals. The start will open at a certain time and will stay open for approximately 1.5 hours to give everybody the chance to have a relaxing start at the time of their choosing.

The courses are fully marked but every rider will get a small ‘backup map’ given in case that marking is not 100% clear or gets damaged or removed. Around the course our energy food sponsor High5 will be present with energy drinks, bars, and gels as well as with bananas and water. Alongside the energy backup, mechanics will be out there to help everyone with any technical problems. The feeding stations are normally between 25-35miles apart but should not be relied upon as the sole source of your food and drink.

Once you’ve managed to complete your ride and come over the finish line make sure you don’t just race past the commentator and the timing crew as you would miss out on your unique finisher present and on your chances of getting one of the many spot prizes that we will give away again.

Camping, registration and start time:
Camping will be available (included in the entry fee) from Friday night through to Monday morning at the Penmaenau Caravon Park in Builth Wells.

Start times:
The Road Sportive will start 8.30am onwards on Saturday the 22nd May 2010 at the Penmaenau Caravan Park in Builth Wells.

Registration opening times:
Friday from 6 – 9pm
Saturday from 7am - 8pm (Please note: from 7 - 9am on Saturday only road sportive riders can register) 
Sunday from 7 - 9am

Entry fees:
The entry fee for the approx. 50 and 100mile long Road Sportive Challenge is £25 per rider.

Discount: If you enter the road sportive on Saturday and the mountain bike event on Sunday (at the same weekend) then we will give you a £10 discount on your over all entry fee.

Your entry fee for the Road Sportive Challenges includes:
Ride entry
Free post event coffee/tea & cake
Free usage of service stations
Free usage of facilities
Finishing present
Free camping and parking
Spot prizes

Location and our man on the ground:
Builth Wells is the location for the first round of the series (22nd May ‘10) and the 2nd round of the MTB marathon series. Our man in Builth Wells is John Lloyd – I don’t think we have to introduce him at all. John is the main man behind the series and an expert when it comes to the trails around Builth Wells.
Give him a ring on 01982 552923 if you have any more specific questions.

BUILTH WELLS Event 2 – ROAD SPORTIVE & CHAIN REACTION CYCLES MTB MARATHON
The birthplace of the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon Series powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport (formally known as the ‘100’ series) and with two events in the season, Builth Wells is the capital of the UK mountain bike endurance scene. Situated in the beautiful unspoiled countryside of Mid-Wales, Builth Wells is an ideal base from which to explore the many attractions and events held throughout the year in this part of the UK, especially the Chain Reaction Cycles MTB Marathon powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport.
The river Wye flows through the centre of Builth Wells on its way to Hereford and Ross-on-Wye, along the flanks of which stand many wonderful hotels and bed and breakfast establishments in the town. Builth Wells also has a picturesque golf course and conference facilities. Mid-Wales is largely unspoiled by industry and Builth Wells is situated at the centre, making it a wonderful place to explore the rest of Wales and the west of England. Take the chance and explore the history of Builth Wells and visit the wonderful castle site (now sadly only a mound), which is perched above the town.

Local Information
For information about local services and accommodation please get in touch with the local Tourist Information Centres and check out the local web sites.

BUILTH WELLS
Tel: 01982 553307
Fax: 01982 553841
Email: builtic@powys.gov.uk

Address:
The Groe Car Park
Builth Wells
Powys
LD2 3BT
Web: www.builth.co.uk