The Tour Ride Wales

The Tour Ride Wales route starts off in Caerphilly, the finish venue for Stage Six of The Tour of Britain, heading out of town towards Abertridwr and immediately into the day’s first climb. A largely straight and gradual climb, the road steepens towards the top, turning back on itself to give fine views back across Caerphilly towards the Mountain, before another steep section brings you out onto the exposed summit of the Mynydd Eglwysilan and far reaching views. The road continues across open moorland before descending to Nelson, where the outbound and inbound Tour Ride Wales routes briefly run in opposite directions on the A472. The route separates from the valley road at Pont Cynon, climbing the hillside up towards the St Gwynno Forest in a long climb, punctuated by a brief descent to Cwm Clydach. After the short descent the climb really kicks in, taking the Ride through the heart of the forest towards one of the high points of the ride on the Rhondda side of St Gwynno Forest. A fast descent takes The Tour Ride route down into the famous Rhondda Valley, first the Rhondda Fach, and then after passing Penrhys and the Shrine of ‘Our Lady’, into the Rhondda Fawr. Valley roads lead past Treorchy to Treherbert where the climbing commences once more, this time tackling the famous climb of the Rhigos from its southern side. It’s a long but steady climb, with the road heading uphill for around five miles, giving the sensation of an Alpine-style Tour de France climb. A quick descent from the summit across open hillsides gives views to the Brecon Beacons in the distance, where The Tour of Britain’s Stage Six will be heading from. Although the climbs it tackles (Cwm Owen and Brecon Beacons) are different, the sensations in the legs will be similar, with valley roads leading back to the day’s final climb of Caerphilly Mountain, a brutal sting in the tail. From Penywaun the route heads back to the Cynon Valley floor through Mountain Ash, scene of a Yodel Sprint in 2011, and onto Nelson. Here the road climbs gently past the Parc Penallta before descending to Ystrad Mynach. For Stage Six come the afternoon this will be where the jostling takes place as riders move up in preparation of the twin ascents of Caerphilly Mountain. The Tour Ride Wales tackles the SKODA King of the Mountains climb just once, following the one-way system through the heart of Caerphilly and onto the lower slopes of the climb. With many fans already congregating for the afternoon’s passage of The Tour of Britain it should be a spectacular chance to ride the climb whilst bearing cheered on. From the summit on the shoulder of Caerphilly Common a quick descent snakes back into Caerphilly for the final right turn onto the finishing straight. To the left lies Caerphilly Castle, while alongside the barriers marking the run to the line will be a reserved area from which to relax and watch the Stage Six finale that afternoon.