This festival is a celebration of cycling in Mid Wales, including town centre criterium racing, downhill mountain biking and a mass participation ride – the Continental Welsh Wild West Sportive, covering all the best roads in Ceredigion.
Aberystwyth Cycle Festival also includes fringe events all week and of course brings you all the thrills of town centre cycle races all afternoon and evening on Fri 26 May.
With some of Britain’s top cyclists making a rare appearance in Mid Wales, festival visitors can watch all the on and off road action and also experience the beautiful and undiscovered lanes of Ceredigion on their own bikes.
The Ceredigion Grand Prix Criterium is a part of the festival. The award-winning course circumnavigates the iconic 19th century Old College, the 13th Century Castle, the Victorian Pier and also brushes the town centre for what is a great day’s entertainment for all.
Whilst the professionals display their talents on the evening of Fri 26 May, cyclists from as young as 8 years old also have their chance to race from 2pm with six separate school races, followed by a Town vs Gown fun challenge for local adults and students.
There is also a 4th category ‘GoRace’ for first time senior racers and finally the Aberystwyth Seafront Criterium for 2nd and 3rd category amateurs, meaning that well over 500 cyclists will be racing around the streets of Aberystwyth as part of the proceedings.
The races provide the backbone of the festival with everyone being able to watch top UK ranked pro riders race later, whilst being catered for by the many cafés, bars and restaurants around the course that stay open on the night.
After the urban based events on Friday and Saturday, it’s time to get out into the countryside and relax. Explore the challenging local terrain on one of three routes which provide something for everyone. Whether you’re an experienced cyclist looking to take on the challenging ‘Cawr’ or ‘Mynach’ rides, or perhaps fancy a more relaxing tour of Ceredigion on the ‘Diafol’ or ‘Corrach’, you’ll be sure of one thing: one of the most spectacular rides in Great Britain.
Aberystwyth Cycle Fest, Sun 21 – Tue 30 May. Admission: prices vary per event. Info: www.abercyclefest.com
words GARETH ELLIS